Clear to cloudy
by Craftex101
Summary: (On hiatus for a while) Kotsukiba is a normal unnoticeable middleschool student with a popular older brother. However his entire world is shaken up as a mysterious man named Reborn shows up at his door telling him that he's the next boss of the Vongola family. From then on Kotsu's life will never be the same, with wacky people entering his life from left to right without warning!
1. Next Vongola?

**A/N: Warning. This story is currently on hiatus or whatever you could call it. It's taking a relaxing break for a while. I'm going to be making a few quite major changes to the themes and also a LOT of changes to the main characters personality to make him more different from Tsuna, as right now people seem to find them to be identical. I will probably rapid-fire out a few more daily life chapters when it returns soo... look forward to that i guess. :P thank you for your patience and enjoy. :D**

* * *

This story takes place in the new future created by Tsuna and his guardians after defeating Byakuran. However, we're another 20 years in the future. I'm going off of the assumption that in the future the box weapons become widely used in the mafia and the dying will flames keep being used as a power source. Also since Byakuran hasn't been using his power to rule the world in the new future and therefore technology hasn't advanced much. This is simply to age the original cast.

 **Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 1: Next Vongola?**

Our story begins at Namimori middle school. At the back of the gymnasium is a giant glass wall and in front of said wall is a boy.

He has his shirt off and by his side is a music player spouting some energetic music. The boy is very tall, has short blonde hair and some very prominent facial features. From simply looking at his upper body one could easily deduce that he's very well-trained. His only visible clothing consists of some loose-fitting blue exercise pants as well as modern thin black slip-on shoes with a yellow rim around the bottom.

The boy is dancing by to the fast-paced music from his music player. But not any kind of dancing. Breakdancing. Airflairs, headspins and so on. He ends in a cool one-hand handstand and flips himself back on his feet, grabbing a water bottle near him. After drinking a bit, he lets out a satisfied sigh and stretches himself a bit.

"Phew! That was a good one, Ren. Let's see… there's always room for improvement. Let's do it again," He stretches a little more before starting the same routine over once more.

Meanwhile, someone is watching him nearby. A random girl around the corner appears to be spying on him. "He's so cool. Ren…" She blushes a bit to herself.

"I just wish you would notice me," She says sighing and the boy, Ren, hears her and pauses briefly in the middle of a spin and looks in her direction while still upside down. The girl hides quickly before he notices blushing furiously as he almost spotted her too. Ren shrugs it off and starts spinning again. Meanwhile, behind the wall, the girl is panting contemplating whether it's safe to look again or not. After a little she calms herself concluding, it's safe to look. However just as she does so, Ren walks around the corner and stops to look at her. He's wearing his, simple white t-shirt, which had lied discarded while he practiced, and he has a towel around his shoulders, his water bottle in hand and music player in his pocket. She gets really scared looking at the tall boy thinking he'll be appalled by the fact that she's just standing and staring around the corner where he just was. However much to her surprise, instead of getting mad or disgusted Ren simply smiles at her kindly.

"Hello there. Can I… help you with something?" The girl starts sweating.

"N-n-n-n-no! I'm fine! Thank you. No need to stop because of me," She tries but Ren stops anyway.

"Are you new here? I… don't think I've seen you in the hallways before. Sorry if I just don't remember you," he says chuckling lightly rubbing the back of his neck. "I try my hardest to remember most of my fellow students, but… you know… there're a lot of you,"

The girl nods so fast her neck might snap.

"Y-yeah. I just started here a couple of weeks ago," Ren let's out a bit of a relieved sigh.

"Well I'm glad it isn't just that I don't remember your face," He says quickly sending her another smile, before walking off towards the school gate. As soon as he's gone the girl exhales heavily.

"That was lucky," She says to herself blushing. "I can't believe THE Ren Niruo talked to me,"

Ren looks back at the girl wondering what she was doing there, but just shrugs it off. He folds his hands behind his head looking up at the sky, which seems to start getting filled with clouds. He suddenly trips over something rather large and human-shaped falling flat on his stomach. The person he tripped over is laying on the ground looking at the sky much like Ren was before impact. He has short, incredibly messy, black hair with a single long tuft falling in front of his face. He's wearing the school's uniform consisting of a long-sleeved white shirt with a dark blue tie and the boy has chosen to wear the complimentary black jacket over. However unlike what one would expect the uniform seems really lazily put on. The tie isn't tied properly and one of the sleeves if half rolled up, but not quite good enough to be practical. The boy looks at Ren, who looks right back and they seem to recognize each other, leading Ren to smile widely while the boy just seems a bit surprised.

"Oh… hi Ren… what're you doing on the ground?" The boy asks and Ren lays down next to his fellow student.

"I tripped over you. Didn't you feel it?" the boy seems to recall their earlier 'interaction'.

"Ah! Sokaaaa…" he says lazily dragging out the soka. (Soka means 'I see' as in 'I understand') Ren just chuckles.

"What're you doing here so late?" Ren says causing his friend to look back at the sky.

"I dunno…" he simply answers.

"That's so like you, Reishiro!" Ren says chuckling leading Reishiro to blankly stare at him.

"It is…?"

"Yeah. It is…"

"Ah! Sokaaaa…"

"So um… want to walk home together? We could talk about our homework maybe. I know you always have an easy time with that right?" Ren asks sitting up making Reishiro do the same.

"We have homework?" Ren stands giving the black-haired boy a hand.

"We do. Math homework," he says as he starts walking as Reishiro instinctively follows him. Reishiro walks a bit like a zombie, slightly hunched over with his arms hanging lifeless down his sides.

"I have math?" He asks tilting his head in wonder with a big metaphorical questionmark over his head.

"You do. It shouldn't be hard… I hope," Ren says and they walk and talk for a bit. Though it's not really a talk as Ren seems to be the only one talking. They come to a fork in the road and Reishiro points down the road.

"I'm… that way…" He says and Ren grins pointing the other way.

"And I'm this way. Like always," He says happily and Reishiro seems to realize.

"Ah! Sokaaaa… well… I'll see you tomorrow then," He says before splitting with the blonde. Ren gets lost in thought at all the homework he'll need to do once he gets home.

After walking for just a few minutes he hears a voice from behind him. "Ren! Wait up!" It says and naturally the blonde stops and looks behind him seeing a person he easily recognizes. He looks a little younger than Ren and in facial shape he shares some similarities with the blonde. He has green round eyes and short black hair with three little tufts falling to the left of his forehead. He has no idea why it does that, it's just always fallen like that, no matter what their parents tried. His uniform is very neat and well-kept unlike Reishiro's. He stops panting and Ren raises a bit of an eyebrow as the two begin walking.

"Hey lil' bro… what happened to your forehead?" He asks noting the band aid on the younger brother's forehead. The younger brother attempts to look at it, which is obviously impossible. He then starts chuckling nervously.

"Y-yeaaaah… that's um…" He says thinking back to P.E. earlier.

 **-NII-**

They're playing basketball. 45 to 43. The younger brother is in the perfect position with only seconds remaining on the clock. "Kotsu!" One of his teammates yells and he receives. 'Alright… I just need to make this one shot and we win!' He thinks to himself. There's no blockers right in front of him. He's really nervous. For once he might actually be the MVP in a sport! That would be incredible! He jumps and time slows down as he tosses the ball. The form was perfect! ALRIGHT! This might actually hit! He lands right as the ball crashes bluntly against the hoop. He blinks a couple of times before the ball crashes straight into his forehead in almost cartoonish perfection. He falls backwards as the clock goes off. He slowly sits up shaking his head as a girl from the class comes running.

"Are you alright!? Kotsu-kun!?" She yells and before she even spoke, Kotsu knew exactly who it was as there's only one girl in class who'd come help him. Fumie. A childhood friend. She moves his hair out of the way to see if he's alright. He's slightly bleeding and she helps him up. "You're bleeding! Come on! Let's get you to the nurse's office!" She says helping him up and as the two walk out of the gymnasium, Kotsu naturally overhears the slight sighs of disappointment from his teammates.

"I don't know what I was expecting… but it wasn't that…"

"I guess his brother really DID get all the athletic abilities huh?"

 **-NII-**

"So yeah… looks like I still suck at sports…" Kotsu finishes his little explanation, neglecting to mention the horribly embarrassing classes afterwards where he once more failed to answer the most basic of questions.

Ren just ruffles his hair. "Don't worry about it lil' bro! Someday you'll find your calling! Who knows!? Maybe you should try breakdancing like me! It quickly gets your blood pumping!"

Kotsu just sighs at his brother's outgoing happy-go-lucky attitude. "Um… I don't think that's for me… requires too much… coordination with all your limbs…"

The two walk home together eventually reaching a house in a quiet neighborhood. Ren pokes his head over the fence of the house next door. An old lady is working in her yard and she stops as she sees his face.

"Good evening miss Konohana!" He says to the old lady leading her to smile back at him.

"Well good evening to you too Ren-chan. Kotsukiba-chan How was school today?" She says and Kotsu leans over the fence with an exhausted look.

"It was really hard… and I failed in P.E. again," He says pointing to his forehead and Konohana laughs a typical old lady laugh.

"I'm sure it was just a fluke dear. You'll make it fine in life I'm certain of it,"

Kotsu sighs. "Thank you miss Konohana," The two boys go next door where they both live. "But I don't even know what I want to do yet. Why can't someone just… tell me what to be…?" Kotsu says to Ren, but mostly himself as he opens the door.

Ren chuckles and pats him on the head again. "Don't worry lil' bro. You just haven't found out the thing just for you yet,"

Just as they close the door a man appears in front of them standing just at the door. He's in a suit and wears a matching fedora with an orange ribbon. On his hat is a little green lizard.

Both Kotsu and Ren blink a couple of times, confused as to who the man is.

"Chaos," The adult says in cool fashion and Kotsu looks around frantically all of the sudden.

"Mom… who is this guy in our house…?" He starts and both Ren and Kotsu's eyes widen when there is no answer. "What did you do to our mom!?" Kotsu yells looking quite scared while Ren reaches for their houseline phone and the man flicks Kotsu in the forehead.

"Shut up. I put her to sleep," He says and Kotsu's eyes fill with dread.

"Y-you… killed her…?" They both gulp since he looks perfectly capable of doing such a thing.

"No. What…? She just got home from her job and was looking absurdly tired. So I put her to bed. Don't jump to such horrifying conclusions kid," He says putting his hands in his pockets.

"Y-you did…?" Kotsu begins again and lets out a sigh of relief, Ren putting down the phone. "But… who are you…?" Kotsu tries when the man just ignores him.

"Now that that's settled… which of you is Kotsukiba?"

Kotsu jumps and points to himself. "T-that would be me…"

The man in front of the two brothers grunts getting their attention again. Kotsu quickly gets his shoes off since their mother is very strict about that. "Do you have somewhere we can talk without disturbance?" He says and Ren takes off his shoes as well and gives the man a friendly smile and a bow.

"Thank you for helping our mother sir. I will do some housework," He says and enters the livingroom. "You can tell me what this is all about later lil' bro!"

The man glares sharply at Kotsu frightening the young boy. "Where can we talk I asked? I hate repeating myself," He says coldly again and Kotsu cowers a bit at his demanding posture and intimidating glare.

"My… my room. I guess," He says and leads the man upstairs trying to make himself as small as possible while the two go up to Kotsu's small room which is right next to Ren's.

The man leans against one of Kotsu's posters of a cartoon character while the young boy sits on the bed. "W-Who are you anyway and why would you want to see me instead of Ren? H-he's usually the one people want to talk to," he says as he pouts.

"You're jealous of him," The man simply states after judging Kotsu's expression quickly.

Kotsu gasps. "W-what!? No I'm not! He's family! Jealousy has no place in a family! But… maybe just a little bit. Ren's a good guy and he isn't trying to be popular… He's just-" He starts before quickly snapping back to the man. "HEY! Don't avoid the question!" He yells annoyed causing the man to tip his hat up in the most intimidating way Kotsu has seen in his entire life.

"The name's Reborn and there're three things you need to know about me," he points to the lizard sitting comfortably on his hat. "First: This is Leon. Second: I'm the world's number one hitman… and three: I HATE being bossed around. Especially by a little kid like you,"

Kotsu falls back on the bed crawling backwards until he hits the wall. "H-hitman!? W-Were you sent here to kill me!? W-why would anyone want me dead? PLEASE DON'T HURT MEEEE!" Reborn strides up before roughly hitting Kotsu over the head.

"Don't be stupid. If I wanted you dead you would've been dead for a few hours and no one would find your body," Kotsu looks up thinking that it doesn't really improve his perception of the man. "I was sent here to tell you that the neo-good-Primo is stepping down early as boss of the Vongola family and you've been chosen as his successor. So, therefore, I will be your tutor," He explains still with a tipped back hat and Kotsu just looks strangely at him for a while not buying into it at all.

"S-so why are you really here?"

Reborn hits him again making him rub the spot which has now been hit twice in the span of a few minutes. "I just told you. Listen when your tutor is talking," He says as he casually leans against the wall.

Kotsu just doesn't believe any of it. "That's… that can't be right! Why me?"

Reborn smiles and looks out the window letting out a small sigh. "I asked myself that too. Why would Tsuna choose someone who's just as useless as himself?"

Kotsu falls down comically. "Who do you think you are? Coming into my house and telling me I'm useless!"

Reborn doesn't even look at him simply holding a piece of paper. "Tell me. What's your plan in life?"

Kotsu starts fidgeting with his hands a little. "W-well I… I don't know okay!? I guess… if I had to choose then I'd want something that pays well to help my mother out…"

Reborn snickers a little. "Yeah… let me tell you right now…" he turns the paper. It's a test with 23/100 written on it. "Grades like this don't secure well-paying jobs,"

"Hey! That's my test. Leave it alone!" Kotsu tries. "I'll get smarter!"

Reborn stops his leaning against the wall, standing a bit away from the wall holding out the paper. "I think we'll begin your training immediately. Here's the deal. If you can take this test from me, I'll leave you alone for a week. Understood?"

Kotsu jumps at Reborn as soon as he explains the 'rules', but Reborn simply moves the paper to the side causing Kotsu to crash into the wall. "I said give it back!" He jumps at Reborn again.

"Don't be stupid. And keep it down will you, your mother is tired," Reborn holds out his hand and holds Kotsu's head in place stopping him from going any further. Kotsu tries to helplessly get his test back and Reborn just sighs. "You really are as no good as Tsuna. This will take time," He says, sighing as he hands Kotsu the test back. They go back downstairs and Reborn casually sits at the dinner table as if he lives there.

Kotsu's mom has gotten out of bed, her wavy dark brown hair looking rather messy and she has little bags under her eyes. "Oh! hey dear… I see you've met Reborn-san…" She says coughing a little forcing a smile and Kotsu looks down a little bit almost afraid to look her in the eyes.

"Mom you're working too hard… You have to relax sometimes! You'll get sick…" he says with a worried look on his face and his mom just giggles rather tiredly and pats him on the head on her way to the coat-rack.

"Don't be silly now dear. I'm not going to get sick… If I get sick I won't be able to work and THEN who will pay for you and Ren's education?" She asks as she goes to grab her coat again. "Well boys! I will get going to work. I didn't mention this but… it seems someone has hired Reborn-san to be your home tutor so it's not us who pays him. Isn't that wonderful Kotsu? I've wanted to get you a home tutor, looking for a third job, but this solves that issue," She says kissing them goodbye and Ren and Kotsu wave her off, both looking rather sad as she grabs her bicycle and sets off to her second job. Things weren't always like this after all.

"Kirara is quite a hard-working woman…" Reborn says watching in the background. She seems almost relieved to have some of her worries lifted off her shoulders by Reborn's arrival.

Kotsu looks to Reborn with a little bit of a grateful look. "Thanks… for saving her that third job…" He says bowing and Reborn looks quite surprised. That was not a reaction he was expecting. It's almost the complete opposite of what it was a few minutes earlier. "But wait…" he looks up and jumps back. "WAIT! You're not a home tutor! You're a hitman! You can't teach me ANYTHING relating to school!" He declares with an accusing point of the finger.

Reborn tilts his head back. "Don't get cocky Kotsu. I'll be teaching you EVERYTHING you need to know, including how to become a mafia boss! So you'd better prepare yourself! Now come on,"

As soon as the front door closes Leon jumps onto Reborn's finger and transforms into a bell. "Now then! Let's continue where we left off. Take this bell from me," Reborn says holding it out.

"W-wait a minute what subject is this?" The young boy asks confused.

Reborn sighs and holds out the bell. "I said take it from me. Do it or I will get mad. I already said I hate repeating myself, which means I repeated it so you're on thin ice now," He says as intimidating as possible, making Kotsu even less willing to approach him to grab the bell, however he does so as the alternative is most likely even worse. Reborn looks to the sky. 'Why would you choose to step off now Tsuna…? when you're in your prime? Just what are you so afraid of… or rather… who…?'


	2. Murphy's law

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 2: Murphy's law**

Kotsu has finally gotten used to Reborn's existence. He's been around for about a week and Kotsu's worked to the bone. Constantly tired. Constantly bossed around, asked to do impossible feats of strength or solve problems meant for high schoolers. He was literally burned out… Kotsu wakes up shaking his head to wake himself up properly. "I wonder what he'll make me do today…" he gets up and changes to his school uniform. He slowly makes his way down the stairs, coming into the livingroom which connects to the kitchen via an archway. His mother is in the kitchen cleaning a couple of dishes and Ren is sitting in his seat eating his own breakfast. He smiles at his little brother with a smile Kotsu swears he's seen more than ANY other expression from the blonde. "Morning lil' bro!"

"Morning…" Kotsu lazily flops down in the chair next to him cementing the immense difference in energy between them. Kotsu had always been a little lazy, laidback and nonchalant going wherever the wind took him. But Ren! Ren had always been the forward type. Energetic, happy, outgoing, and a REAL dance-freak. Ever since he could remember Ren has always been breakdancing. At the start it was quite normal to watch. Just some funky movements. Kotsu really wanted to give it a try back then, just to be as cool as his big brother. But then it started to quickly evolve into more advanced moves, where he'd start getting on the ground spinning and whatnot. No restraint at all. Kotsu officially gave up on doing breakdancing at that point. WAY too advanced for a little guy like him! And as of late it hasn't slowed down at all! He's STILL trying to reach new heights in his dance moves. Kotsu honestly has no idea how Ren is managing to get in as much practice as he does, while also staying on top of school, AND a social life with friends, though Kotsu's only ever really seen him actively seeking out Reishiro…

Reborn walks in taking off his nightcap making his fedora pop out from underneath. He even SLEEPS with that fedora?! "Chaos," he says sitting down and their mom pours a cup of coffee for him.

"Morning Reborn…" She says gushing over his morning voice.

Reborn quickly gulps down the coffee and thanks her. "So… Kotsu. Today's the day of your school's annual scavenger hunt. Did you sign yourself up?" He asks and Kotsu just slowly shakes his head.

"No… I-I'm not very good at it. Why do you ask?" Kotsu says starting to get nervous and Ren just laughs.

"I did! It's always fun. Goes all around Namimori!"

Reborn tips his hat. "Well I signed you up Kotsu. And you're on Ren's team," He says and Kotsu's jaw drops.

"W-why!? That's not fair! I don't wanna!"

At that his mother points at him from the kitchen with a spoon. "Kotsu. The man's giving you a chance to do something OTHER than all that studying he's putting you through,"

Kotsu is about to complain before feeling an almost shining aura coming from his brother and as he looks over the older brother's eyes are sparkling with the strength of a thousand suns. "Finally! I get to DO something with you! This'll be AWESOME!" He says happily and Kotsu almost can't bring himself to complain due to the boy's outburst.

"Y-yeah…"

"I may have tweaked your route and added an extra element of surprise," Reborn says but before Kotsu can say anything Ren's already dragged him up and out of the door.

"Let's GOOO!" He yells happily tugging along with their bag of outdoor gym-clothes. "Bye mom!" they both declare as they run down the street.

Reborn smirks. "Let's see how unlucky you are today, Murphy," He says smirking.

 **-NII-**

The entire school has gathered out front. At least the ones who've 'willingly' participated in the scavenger hunt. It seems that the only members of team Niruo are Ren, Kotsu and someone else who looks very familiar. "Reborn! What're you doing here!?" Kotsu yells but the hitman hits him over the head wearing a disguise which somehow has made him shorter, so he looks like a middle schooler.

"Who's Reborn? I'm Ribonu," He says folding crossing his arms.

Ren holds out a hand. "Ribonu eh? Nice to meet you. Let's do our best!" He says and Reborn shakes on it.

"As you say," Each team is handed out a map and compass. Reborn takes the map quickly looking over it. As he goes back to his team he swaps it for another in his pocket. "here we are," He says handing it over to Ren who quickly points into the distance.

"This way we go! Let's make it quick and run!" He says jumping a little to stretch and Kotsu already looks exhausted simply at the thought. Reborn just goes along and begins running after Ren with Kotsu scrambling to keep up.

"This is… too much… energy… right off the bat…" He pants.

 **-NII-**

They've reached the town! Namimori shopping district! It's relatively quiet for what it's worth. The group has slowed down to find the exact location of the first marker. They walk past an alley and right as they do a man walks out wearing a light brown coat covering his body and a hat covering his face, bumping into them all. "My apologies. Didn't see you guys…" He says before quickly walking off. Naturally only Kotsu finds this strange as Ren and Reborn are already discussing the location of the marker.

"A-Am I REALLY the only one who found that suspicious?" Kotsu asks pointing after the man who's already gotten quite far away.

Ren laughs it off. "Calm down lil' bro. It was JUST an accident!" However right as he says that Kotsu notes a brick which was somehow balanced on the edge of the building they're standing at falls due to wind and jumps forward to push Ren out of the way. They both narrowly dodge the brick as it crashes against the pavement. "Close one… thanks lil' bro… you really saved me there," He says with another smile and Kotsu gets off. That was TOO perfect to be a mere coincidence. However Ren brushes it off and points. "I think it should be over there!" He says and Reborn nods following him to the spot. Kotsu quickly gets behind the two.

"Who was THAT!?" Reborn just shrugs.

"No idea,"

"Yes you do! Don't lie!" He whispers somehow still conveying the yell.

Reborn bonks him on the head. "I'm not going to tell you. Now shut it and let's go," Ren spots the marker hidden in an alley and quickly runs to grab it along with Kotsu, however right as Kotsu picks up the marker they hear a snarl coming from a cardboard box next to it. They both gulp before running away as a dog starts chasing after them.

"Ribanu! Run!" Ren yells in frantic panic and Reborn just smirks a little, running with them from the dog.

 **-NII-**

Meanwhile, the man in the coat takes off his hat revealing short brown hair and a very sharp-looking face. He walks into an alley and falls flat on his face.

"Dammit…" He says to himself getting back up and he takes a phone out of the coat and dials a number.

"It's done."

"Who is this? How did you get my number?" He hangs up and looks at the number.

"Dammit, I dialed wrong again," He dials another number making sure to dial up right this time.

"It's done," He says hanging up just as quickly as he called whoever it was. "Wonder if Reborn-san set up the traps properly…

 **-NII-**

Ren, Reborn and Kotsu make it to the woods. The exact and only place where Kotsu did NOT want to go on a scavenger hunt with someone like Reborn. Ren looks at the map. "Looks like there're special instructions for this marker. 'Be weary of the tribals living in these forests. They have set traps for you to fall into. Be careful!'" he reads before smiling and taking the first step into the forest. "Well then! No need to back down then!" Kotsu scrambles after them.

"R-Reborn… what kind of traps did you set…?" He asks and Reborn just points to the ground.

"Stuff like that," He says right as Kotsu's foot is trapped in a snare and he's pulling into a tree. Sadly for him a bird has JUST built a nest in the tree and starts pecking at him before he suddenly falls due to Ren having cut the rope. He tries catching Kotsu but fails and Kotsu crashes into the ground.

"Oooowww…" Kotsu says as he gets up and Ren blinks a little.

"S-sorry lil' bro… I thought I had you…" He says once more a bit ashamed. "Y-you didn't get hurt did you?"

"N-no I'm fine…" The little group starts walking through the forest, somehow hitting a trap almost every step. Even Reborn is a bit surprised by their unluckiness.

"You really think we'll ever make it to the marker with all these traps?" Ren asks his hands folded behind his head.

Before Kotsu can even answer the question Reborn points to the side. "Watch out," he says nonchalantly as a giant log comes flying from the side, attached to a rope. Ren reacts quickly jumping landing on it and getting down on the other side, while Kotsu ducks under the log. They both quickly stand up looking back to see the log come back swinging. Everything goes in slowmotion for a moment as neither of them have time to react. However right then Kotsu sees Reborn firing a pistol which appears to be Leon at him. The bullet splits in two hitting Kotsu with a red aura which penetrates his forehead and he falls back. 'W-what…? I'm dying… right now…? That's ridiculous… I didn't even get to do anything with my life. I didn't even get to push him out of the way of the trap. I wish I could've stopped that trap from hitting him at least…' he says landing and Reborn smirks as the log gets ever closer to Ren who tries dodging however right before the log hits Kotsu leaps back up off the ground with gusto crashing his head straight into it as hit clothes bursts off, while a giant purple flame shoots from his forehead.

"RE… BOOOOOORNNN! I WILL STOP THESE TRAPS WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells sounding more energetic than he ever has before and Ren just looks stunned as the log is literally ripped in two despite being incredibly thick. "FIRST TRAP STOPPED! LET'S… GOOOOOO!" Kotsu yells off the top of his lungs before he starts sprinting into the distance. "MORE! THERE'RE MORE!" He yells stepping on another snare however before it even pulls him up he grabs the rope biting it to pieces. Ren and Reborn both quickly run after him, easily being able to see where he's been by the havoc on the path.

"W-what's gotten into him all of the sudden…?" Reborn smirks.

"The dying will. Any good mafia boss will need to master it. This is the first step," Ren looks to the disguised hitman.

"Mafia boss. I heard about that… it's like a game right? Kotsu and his home tutor plays it. So you two huh?" He says as they find Kotsu standing in an opening with a beartrap around his foot frantically jumping around trying to get it off, the spikes having bent instead of penetrated his skin. Reborn looks quite strangely. He never placed a beartrap… then why was it there.

"GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!" He stops as he sees another trap activate. "NEVERMIND!" He yells jumping at the log stopping it with his bare hands.

Ren is simply amazed. "That looks… really realistic," He says and Reborn looks back seeing the man who bumped into them all before come running with a real bear chasing after him.

"Reborn-san! Please help me!" He yells and Reborn grits his teeth slightly.

"Dammit. Why'd HE have to come HERE?" he says as it roars clearly upset at Kotsu's yelling and the man. The three quickly run away as Kotsu is still trying to force the beartrap off his foot. He stops hearing the bear roar and see Ren, Reborn and the man coming towards him. "MORE TRAPS!" He says running towards it without a single shred of fear. He jumps up and kicks it with his trapped foot making it fall off and he holds the bear down. "THE BEAR GOT TRAPPED THIS TIME!" He declares before he falls off the large creature and Ren catches him for real this time.

"Woah… that was… really crazy lil' bro…"

The man lets out a heavy sigh. "Thanks for saving me there…" He says before the beartrap Kotsu finally got off lands right on his head, knocking him down and it lands on his back.

"You're welcome. But next time… don't come so close to where we actually are. You're so unlucky it's not even funny," The man slowly looks up.

"S-sorry Reborn-san… I tried… but you know… if I don't want to go somewhere I'll likely end up there you know…?" He says slowly getting up. Kotsu slowly opens his eyes shaking his head before noting his clothing state.

"W-wha! What the heck!? Ren! What happened!?" He yells frantically grabbing his head as Ren puts him down making the boy shiver from the cold dirt. He remembers… getting shot? And then… waking up without his clothes… there was definitely something missing in his mind.

They both looks curiously at the man who has joined them. "W-who's this man…?" The man holds out a hand which is gloved.

"Name's Murphy. I'm a hitman like Reborn here," He says and Reborn snaps his fingers making his disguise disappear.

"Mister Reborn! YOU were Ribonu!?" Ren says genuinely surprised and both Murphy and Kotsu fall cartoonishly thinking there's no possible way he didn't see through that disguise.

"Murphy's in a hitman like me. He's known as the accident hitman due to his contagious unluckiness," Ren tilts his head.

"Contagious unluckiness?" they both ask at the same time and Murphy laughs a little.

"I've always been unlucky and I found out that people I touch become unlucky for a little while as well," He explains and Kotsu then recognizes the coat. He was the guy who bumped into them in the town! So that's when he made them unlucky!

"H-how long does that last…?"

"I thought it'd be over by the time we made it here, but looks like it lasted a bit longer,"

Kotsu gets a little angry. "But why! We could've died in here!"

Reborn steps up to answer. "I was testing you. If you'd failed then you weren't cut out for being a mafia boss. Especially not of the Vongola," He says holding up the markers they were supposed to find. "Let's go,"

"I don't really get what's going on but looks like we got all our markers!" Ren says laughing and Kotsu laughs along nervously as they begin to make their way back, Ren lending Kotsu his shirt. He luckily has a t-shirt underneath. Reborn looks to the young boy in his undies. 'So… he really DOES have a flame… a cloud flame… you are a strange boss Tsuna… but I respect that I suppose,'

They made it home too late however… and lost. Ren's first loss in his entire middle school career…


	3. Murphy's 'lucky' day

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 3: Murphy's 'lucky' day**

 **A/N: I wanted to add a little more character building on Murphy but didn't know where to put it. So here it is. :P You can skip it if you don't want to read it as it's not vitally important to know. XD only if you care about Murphy. :P**

After the incident where Reborn hired him to make Ren and Kotsu unlucky during the scavenger hunt he has been around in Namimori. Murphy. Age: 56. Why is that important? Because he's been alive for 56 years while being close to death the entire time. His contagious unluckiness comes from somewhere. And that somewhere is himself.

He's quietly walking down the street of Namimori minding his own business making sure that his gloves are firmly in place. If he happens to accidentally touch someone without them they will get 'infected'. Something he doesn't want to befall on normal people. It is his problem and something he has to deal with.

As he walks he kindly greets a girl who smiles at him, however naturally as if the entire universe is against him he walks into a bench he didn't see since his eyes were directed somewhere else. "damn…" He says rubbing his back as he gets back up, kindly rejecting people's offer to help him up after the fall. He takes a wrong turn down an alley where a couple of thugs are just standing around for some reason. However Murphy knows that reason as soon as he trips over something landing over the foot of one of them. It's the goddess of luck playing tricks on him again.

"Oi! The hell are you doing old man," Murphy slowly stands up fixing his coat.

"Sorry about that. Today's not really my day," He says laughing nervously.

"You bet it isn't!" The thug yells taking a swing at Murphy who doesn't even bother dodging. With his luck something even worse will happen if he does. However the thug stops as he suddenly gets hit over the head by a bag.

"Stop that!" A stern and annoyed voice says. The thug is about to assault the woman also, but Murphy takes the opportunity to take off his glove quickly placing it on the thugs shoulder, pushing him back a little. Thanks to his unlucky curse the thug trips over a cardboard box of all things and in an attempt to stabilize makes a trashcan tip emptying the content all over him. The other thugs are about to go after them but the woman takes out a pepper spray pointing it at them. "Go away! Or you'll get sprayed!" She threatens, and Murphy is honestly stunned. What just happened? He was… lucky for once!? He looks to the woman who just smiles at him. She's an older woman with long black hair and Murphy blushes slightly.

"H-hey… t-thanks for the assist there…" he says a little embarrassed that he's a grown man who just got help from a woman. But there was not much he could do being as unlucky as he is. But he wasn't! Not this time!

"Why didn't you at least try and fight back sir? You certainly looks like you could," She says looking at him rather strong appearance even though it's mostly covered by his coat. It was true. If it wasn't for his misfortune Murphy could've most likely handled every one of those guys alone.

"Well it's… a condition I have…" He says and the woman giggles a little.

"If you say so… do you want to come out of this alley or…?" Murphy looks back laughing a little.

"Why yes that'd be nice…" The two exit the alley and Murphy is honestly a little scared. He notes two large bags of things she's bought. She tries picking them up before looking at Murphy.

"H-hey… would you mind helping me out with these? They're very heavy. Especially for an aging woman like me," She says and Murphy is once more a little hesitant, but helps anyway since doing anything else is impolite.

"You're not THAT old yet. Well at least you don't LOOK very old," He says trying to be as charming as possible. That is the one thing he's never had misfortune in. Talking. He can't affect people by talking. The woman seems charmed at least making Murphy smile a little. "And sure I'll help you with that…" He says reaching for one of the bags and she does the same by accident thinking he'd grab the other and Murphy quickly withdraws his hand out of fear of transferring his misfortune on her. "Sorry…" He says taking the other instead. The woman's blushing slightly.

"N-no problem…" Murphy picks up the bag and starts slowly walking with it, hoping that nothing bad will happen to it. "W-what's your name, if I may ask?"

"Murphy. I… don't remember my last name…" He adds before glancing at the pretty woman. Why was she being so nice to him? Quite odd. "Yours?"

"Luna," She says smiling at him.

"Not a Japanese name… you don't look Japanese either… you're from…?"

"Italy," She says and right as she does the handle on Murphy's bag breaks off due to a rusty hinge and she contents spill everywhere. "Oh dear!" She says going behind him as he starts to pick everything up hoping he doesn't break any of it as he puts it back even though it's just groceries.

Murphy turns his head back with an apologetic smile and she quickly hides the knife in her coat again. "I'm really sorry about that. Just… happens sometimes," Luna giggles a little getting down to help him out.

"It happens… it's not your fault. You were just a little unlucky," She says and once more they both reach for the same item to put back and their hands touch, just like in the movies. Luckily Murphy's wearing his glove so she's not going to be 'infected'. They both quickly glance at each blushing heavily both of them. "Um I… sorry again," he says withdrawing his hand and Luna looks to the side.

"I-it's alright…" She stutters and the two like a pair of fumbling teenagers as they finally get everything sorted out and are back on track.

The two start hitting it off really well it seems, as she appears to find his genetic clumsiness to be quite adorable. Of course Murphy is really not liking how he keeps embarrassing himself in front of her, but every time he does and sees her laugh he can't help but feel like it's sort of okay and laugh as well.

 **-NII-**

The two of them finally make it to the woman's apartment and after trying to help her take her stuff up the stairs and having to pick it all up again they finally get inside and Luna starts putting everything away. "Would you like some coffee, Murphy?"

"S-sure…" He says sitting at her dinner table really nervous as to what'll happen. Why was he so lucky today…? That NEVER happens. She puts a coffee cup in front of him.

"Here you go…" She says before Murphy hears the sound of a knife being drawn from the holster at the kitchen counter. He then her walk towards him again.

"I guess it figures…" He says sounding slightly sad. "I'm sorry. I don't know who it was but I'm sorry…" He says and Luna suddenly takes a large step forward.

"This is for my husband! You killed him and everyone said it was an accident!" She yells but somehow trips and the knife slides over and brushes against Murphy's shoe.

"That's how I do things… and I'm really sorry. I wish you could kill me… but you can't…" He says and Luna stands back up her previously pretty hair falling in her face now making her looks a lot more insane.

"W-what!?"

Murphy stands up and walks to the door. "I'm the unluckiest man in the world… but I've been alive for 56 years… how…?" He asks and Luna just looks confused.

"I… thought you could control such things!"

Murphy just shakes his head. "I've been an orphan all my life. Constant misfortune, breaking things means I couldn't get a job, my contagiousness meant I couldn't make any friends. Never have kids. The only thing I could do was hurt people. So that's the only way I can live. That's not what I want… I want to die. I want out. But anything I want. I can't have. When I try hanging myself the rope breaks. Shooting myself, the gun jams. Every time. Jump off a building, something breaks my fall and I survive. That doesn't mean I don't get hurt, but I always survive. And I really don't like it. So I'm sorry that I killed your husband. But there's nothing I can do except just keep on living against my own will and bring misfortune with me wherever I go," He says and as he opens the door he looks back and smiles. "But… thanks for one of the best days of my life. I knew you wanted to kill me. But it was still nice,"

"W-what!? But I almost killed you! How is THAT the best day of your life!?"

"When I constantly live near the edge of death one attempt at my life to or from makes no difference," He says exiting. This is what he deals with. Murphy. The accident hitman.


	4. The bodyguard of Neo Vongola Secondo

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 4: The bodyguard of Neo Vongola Secondo**

Kotsu wakes up. Sore all over after the intense trap-handling the day before. After lazily making his way downstairs he sits down eating his breakfast. Appears Ren's already finished eating and left from the looks of his chair. "Good morning sweetheart. Ren already left for school. And Reborn has also gone somewhere. He didn't specify where… said he was meeting someone," His mom says with a smile and Kotsu rubs the sleep out of his eyes.

"I'll catch him on the way then. I'm off mom. See ya," He says grabbing some toast and his bag and heads towards school, same as any other day.

 **-NII-**

On the way, he meets a girl about his own age. The very same who helped him when he got hit by the ball. She has long brown hair and blue eyes. She's wearing the female uniform which has a complimentary skirt instead of pants and a bowtie instead of a tie, of which the girl has chosen the blue bow. Fumie… One of his childhood friends. An energetic, friendly and social girl, and pretty much the only girl he ever talks to. He honestly has no idea why she even still talked to him, but that just made him appreciate it even more.

"Hey there Kotsu-kun. You look sleepy as always. That home tutor got you worked to the bone and out still?" She asks giggling a little at his misery to which Kotsu yawns, almost on command, covering with his hand.

"Yeah. I'm fine though Fumie-san… thanks for the concern," He says with a sarcastic annoyance as she seems to be enjoying it.

"I'm just glad to see you actually… you know… DO something. You NEVER do anything other than go to school," She says and Kotsu can do nothing but agree with her. But he was definitely enjoying the peace and quiet of his life.

 **-NII-**

As they come up to the front entrance. The teacher standing guard looks at his watch with a stone-cold, yet impatient expression on his face. "You're dangerously close to being late, herbivores," He says tapping his foot on the ground glaring at the two students as Kotsu and Fumie scramble to get in the gate quickly.

"I wouldn't want to have THAT scary guy as a teacher…" Fumie whispers obviously not wishing for the teacher to overhear her. "Have you seen that bracelet he has? It's full of spikes and stuff,"

Kotsu gulps and looks over his shoulder at the man seeing her point. He DOES look quite frightening.

As soon as Kotsu and Fumie enter their classroom on the third floor Fumie is instantly surrounded by other girls as they have their usual good mornings and such. Meanwhile Kotsu just looks on, grateful that he at the very least has the walk to and from school to talk to her before she's swarmed by others. The teacher walks in and everyone sits down at their tables and takes out pencil and paper to take notes.

"Morning everyone," The teacher says and starts taking leave.

 **-NII-**

After the long set of lessons, Kotsu gets up going to the door to get some fresh air before going home as he always does. He might have a window seat in class, but he still finds the outside to be much more comforting. Right as he slides the door to the side someone comes running in the door knocking Kotsu back causing him to fall. Kotsu looks up being met with a young boy, no more than 12, with messy white hair, freckles and bright yellow eyes. He's wearing some loose dark-green jeans and a hoodie with white sleeves and a black stomach and long laces to tighten the hood. In addition, he also has two thin wristbands around his wrists.

"Hey! Watch it will you!?" The boy says sounding slightly angry with him.

Kotsu rubs his lower back as he stands up again. "You know… you shouldn't run in the hallways…" Kotsu says and the boy nods a little seeming intrigued by the statement.

"I see… Interesting," He says as he takes out a notebook and writes something in it, but even if you could see it you wouldn't be able to read it due to the boy's terrible TERRIBLE handwriting. "You should still watch it. Got it?"

The boy looks around the classroom, which is now around half-empty due to the rest having left to go outside. "Does anyone know who Kotsukiba Niruo is!?" He yells into the class with an angry look.

Kotsu stands up and points to himself with a questioning look. "I'm… Kotsukiba Niruo," He states leading the younger boy to look at him.

"No you're not," He simply says looking almost annoyed at Kotsu. "The REAL Kotsukiba-san is super awesome and cool!" He says smirking pumping his fist in admiration of his perception of Kotsu. Right after that the young boy spins on his heel after no one else seems to have identified themselves as Kotsu.

"W-what do you mean I'm not me!?" He says stepping out to confront the boy, but he bumps into someone. None other than the home tutor of death. "R-Reborn!"

"I see you've met your bodyguard," He simply says causing the boy to blink a few times. His… bodyguard…? But that boy was younger than him!? Not even old enough to go to Namimori middle school yet…

"B-but he wrote me off! Who told him that I was 'awesome' and 'super cool'!"

"I did. I'm his mentor," He answers in a split second.

"T-then… go tell him I'm me I guess! I don't need a bodyguard but just having him run around looking for me is stupid isn't it?" Reborn just points to the young student with a stern look.

"Why should I do that? You go convince him instead. That will be your first task. His name is Tsugemora Gagliardi," He says before walking straight past Kotsu and the boy turns to look at his home tutor.

"W-why should I care!? I don't even know hi-!" He starts but quickly realizes that Reborn has disappeared. "Tsugemora… strange name…" Kotsu says getting up deciding to go outside like he planned to all along. He sits down under the tree just enjoying the nice weather. This was his one peaceful time. The time in between Reborn's physical and mental 'abuse' and class he could actually kind of relax under the tree in front of the school.

"KOTSUKIBA-SAN! Where are you!?" He hears someone yell and he jumps up seeing the young boy from before, Tsugemora, walk around screaming for him.

Kotsu stands and tries looking as cool as he can manage, which obviously isn't very. "Over here Tsugemora!" He tries and the young white-haired boy just looks disappointed still. He stomps over and grabs his collar, looking up at him.

"Leave me alone. You're not Kotsukiba-san! Kotsukiba-san looks cool and awesome unlike you!" he says before stomping out of there again still yelling for him. Kotsu runs after him again walking behind the young boy.

"So um… w-where're you from… Tsugemora…?" He tries and the boy in question just looks at him with disgust.

"I'm looking for someone important right now! I don't want to talk to a normal guy like you! But I'm from Italy. My mom's Japanese," He explains, leading Kotsu to almost to just look at the little boy, who's clearly contradicting himself.

"R-right… then… w-what do you know about Kotsukiba Niruo… other than the fact that he's awesome and all that?" Tsugemora tsks annoyed.

"Leave me alone will you!?" He says before running behind the school to the glass wall seeing none other than Ren practicing his breakdancing. Tsugemora's eyes widen seeing him. "You! You are who I'm looking for!" He yells and both Ren and Kotsu stop to look at him, seeing if he's being serious, as he points in overdramatic fashion at the breakdancer.

"Um… excuse me?" Ren says before letting on a smile. "I guess people DO come looking for me a lot… I shouldn't really be surprised…" He says and Tsugemora looks almost sparkly-eyed at him.

"He really IS awesome!" He says but before taking another step towards Kotsu's brother someone comes running behind the school. A third year with short military-cut black hair.

"ALRIGHT! I knew I'd find you here Ren! W-we're in a little bit of a pinch. We're having a practice soccer game against Akatori middle school in a little bit… but um… looks like not just one but THREE of our members couldn't make it… Our goalkeeper got food poisoning… a defender has family matters and our ace hurt his leg somehow… y-you wouldn't happen to be free for the game and… you know… have some friend's who'd join in?" He says and Ren just smiles.

"Sure thing! I'll help you guys out! As for friends…" He looks behind him and points to Kotsu and Tsugemora. "They're in too!" He says with a smile and Kotsu takes a step back.

"B-but Ren! I-!" He starts but Ren just smiles.

"No buts Lil' bro! This could be a good opportunity!" He says and Tsugemora pumps his fist.

"Alright! Let's do this!" He says proudly and Kotsu is simply forced to go along with it. They get to the football field having burrowed some uniforms to play in. Kotsu sees the coach and he instantly knows something is up. It's Reborn… wearing a coach's uniform and a fake beard.

"Everyone! This may just be a practice game… but that is NO excuse for not giving it your all!" Reborn declares in an insanely convincing impersonation of a soccer coach. Everyone throws their hands in the air.

"OSU!" Everyone says even Tsugemora getting pumped up. However Kotsu is the only person who can't get himself to get hyped knowing he'll fail no matter which position he's put in.

"Alright! I'm a bodyguard so I'll be our keeper and protect the goal!" Tsugemora says smirking as he slams his fists together. The boy who came and got them is the teams captain. Taichi Kobane, a real football freak… at least according to most people.

"You got it! Ain't ever seen you around but I love a guy with spirit!" Taichi says giving him the thumbs up. The statement actually makes Kotsu wonder if Tsugemora's even allowed to be there since he doesn't even go to their school.

Ren smiles as well. "I'll be going up front! Guess that means you're up for defense lil' bro!" Kotsu gulps a little as he has no clue how people play the game let alone a specific position. But defense sounds like the least strenuous position he could have so it's fine…

"Alright! Let's play some soccer!" Ren and Taichi declare already on the same wavelength. Before the game starts Reborn pulls Kotsu aside while the rest are wishing the other team for a good game.

"Kotsu… Akatori has at least one hitman on their team. There's nothing I can do without causing a scene. So it's up to you," He says and Kotsu gets really frightened looking at the enemy team. However right as he's about to complain and panic, whichever came first, Reborn just pushes him out as the game is starting. "Go get 'em!"

Kotsu stands at the position Taichi advised him to, his legs shaking from the thought of him being able to die. Tsugemora looks up at him just tsking annoyed. "Stop that useless shaking! I won't let ONE ball get through our goal! So you can just stand there and be useless!" he says confidently and the referee whistles beginning the game. So now the only question was… will Kotsu die… or will he survive? A deadly game of soccer was beginning!


	5. Deadly game: first half

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 5: Deadly game: first half!**

The soccer game has just started with Namimori getting the kickoff. Kotsu gulps being aware and very weary of any suspicious activity from the other school seeing as he knows at least one of them is a hitman. Taichi dribbles up with Ren following close behind the two passing back and forth. Ren gets the ball getting locked in front of one of their members. He simply smiles. "Let's play a good game alright!?" He says with a smile before quickly looking around seeing Taichi attempt to make himself open along with their third forward. However when doesn't see any openings he instead just starts moving the ball around and with some tricky footwork manages to gently poke it between the boy's legs quickly making it to the other side giving it a firm kick to Taichi who jumps in the air to intercept it with his chest before hammering it at the opponent's goal. However right as it looks like it'll go in Akatori's keeper grabs it with some extreme precision. He makes safely on his feet after a quick side-flip tossing it to one of their midfielders who catches it without even looking. Kotsu quickly realizes that such levels of play aren't at all possible in middle school. Therefore the keeper and that midfielder are the hitmen he needs to look out for!

The midfielder kicks it forward after easily passing by the Namimori players to one of their forwards. A young boy with dark-eyes and a really eerie grin on his face. "Okura!" He yells as the forward sees the pass, however it's way too high. One of Namimori's defenders moves in front of him to stop him.

"You're not getting to our goal!" He strongly declares, but Okura just laughs.

"Then try to stop THIS!" He yells leaping into the air straight over him with ease.

"W-what!?" Everyone on Namimori's team blurt out as Okura does half a flip hanging upside down right as the ball passes by his feet and he kicks it with immense force. Definitely not a real middleschooler! Tsugemora confidently holds up his hands to stop the ball coming straight for him, but right as the ball makes contact the young boy notes how incredibly heavy it feels as he's easily thrown back into the goal getting the ball smashed right into his stomach. Reborn squints his eyes from the sideline as the ref blows the whistle.

"A hyper-mass ball? Interesting…" As Tsugemora gets up he notes that the ball is back to normal again.

"Damn… soccer really HAS become more advanced!" He says smirking before kicking the ball out to Kotsu who misses the pass completely ending with a player from Akatori getting the ball again, within seconds and Kotsu feels beyond useless as he scrambles to correct his mistake but given that he's not very athletic to begin with he doesn't stand a chance of catching up to the seasoned player, let alone a well-trained hitman. He kicks it straight past another defender slamming it straight into the corner of the goal without Tsugemora being able to do anything about it. The little boy grits his teeth slamming his fist into his other hand. "Dammit! Next time I'll get it! On my pride as a bodyguard!" He declares and Taichi smirks giving him a thumbs up.

"That's the attitude! We'll turn this around!" He yells back from the front line and Tsugemora gives him a thumbs up back.

"You bet we will. From here on out! Nothing's getting through!" He declares preparing again kicking to someone other than Kotsu this time and they steadily make their way up the field with short safe passes. Ren receives it up front and he smirks thinking back.

"I loved that move Okura just did! Let's see how I fair!" He says spinning the ball onto his foot tossing it into the air, before leaping off the ground. He doesn't make it as far as Okura but still jumps high enough to make everyone gasp. While hanging there in the air Ren stops to think for a second. Should he give this move a name…? Maybe… might sound awesome! "Let's go! RYUSEI… TAIHO!" He declares before kicking the ball down and the goalkeeper tries stopping it, but it's simply too fast. Ren's kick was nothing short of powerful. Akatori all look stunned as the goalkeeper slowly turns to see the ball in the net before he could even react. Ren lands and pumps his fist. "ALRIGHT! Made it!" He says running back getting a fistbump from Taichi.

"that was awesome Ren! I knew we could count on you!" He says and Ren just chuckles a little.

"I was really nervous there. Didn't actually think I'd make that shot. I'll play it safe next time," He assures and Taichi just claps his legs as they get into defensive positions.

"That's alright! We have the flow with us! Let's go!"

Reborn looks curiously at Ren. "That move… even the name… hmm… curious," he says to himself almost ponderingly.

Tsugemora throws his fist in the air. "Way to go! Just what I'd expect from Kotsukiba-san!"

Ren looks back curiously. "Kotsu…kiba… that's not me… That's my little brother," He says pointing to Kotsu and Tsugemora just laughs happily.

"Nice joke Kotsukiba-san! Let's keep up the nice shots!" He says as the game begins again. However after another minute or so Akatori are up to Tsugemora and his goal again. Okura gets the ball.

"How dare you make a goal against US! I'll show you!" He says winding back his foot for a powerful kick smashing against it and it's pretty clear that the ball has gained weight again. Tsugemora realizes quickly and runs forward out of the goal jumping up to intercept slamming his fist into it as hard as he can making Kotsu give him a look of surprise as the ball slows down just enough for him to grab it as it rolls towards the goal.

"I got it Kotsukiba-san!" He yells proudly holding it up in his hand and Okura looks at him with widened eyes.

"I-impossible! That ball was 10 kilos coming straight at you with so much speed! Your hand must be broken from that punch!" Tsugemora smirks and holds up the hand he punched with.

"See!? It's fine! Now GO! Kotsukiba-san!" He tosses to Ren with all his might. It doesn't quite reach him, but luckily one of their midfielders kicks it up quickly.

"You got it! Still not Kotsukiba though!" He yells rushing up when one of Akatori's defenders suddenly breaks in from the side stealing it with ease kicking it all the way back over the field, actually forcing Tsugemora to step out to stop the ball before the defender makes a goal. He once more hits the ball, but this time into the ground. It once more appears that it had some extra weight but it bounces off the ground just fine. He catches it, but for some reason drops it, quickly picking it back up before throwing it out again. Kotsu naturally notices and quickly gets closer.

"A-are you okay?" he asks and Tsugemora just tsks.

"I'm not looking for pity! So what if my fingers feel a little funny!? I can still guard this goal!" He says and Kotsu gets a little sad hearing that Tsugemora's hurting himself just for a stupid soccer game.

"That's nothing to scoff at! If you're hurt then don't be a goalkeeper. We can just switch you out to defense!" Tsugemora grits his teeth again before taking off his gloves, showing Kotsu his hands.

"See!? I'm fine!" He says, but his words nowhere near matches the state of his hands. They're completely smashed and he's bleeding from his knuckles.

"W-what do you mean fine!? That looks insanely painful!"

"I wouldn't know! I can't feel pain. Now here it comes!" he says quickly getting his gloves on again. Looks like Ren and Taichi failed the offense this time and Tsugemora prepares for another punch. Kotsu looks seeing Okura getting ready for the kick.

"Take THIS!" he yells kicking the ball and Kotsu closes his eyes getting front to protect him.

"I-I won't let you h-hurt yourself!" He yells not seeing when the ball hits however right before the impact with the ball he feels some kind of warmth filling his head before the impact and he flies back, the ball flying into the air.

At the sideline Reborn is standing with Leon in gun form. "The steel skull bullet. Never thought I'd use it for a soccer game…" He says as Kotsu sits up rubbing his head, not feeling nearly as much pain as he thought he would. He slowly gets up only feeling a little dizzy. He sees the ball finishing its bouncing landing next to him and he slowly just… kicks it to someone else without really thinking. Tsugemora's eyes are wide looking at the young boy.

"H-hmm… Alright! I'll acknowledge you! But don't you DARE impersonate Kotsukiba-san again! I won't believe it!" Kotsu just laughs nervously.

"I um… have no clue what happened… but it felt really good to be useful I guess…" He says before the ball suddenly comes flying and Kotsu has no time to react and it flies right past him and into the goal with Tsugemora not being able to punch it in time. Okura smirks standing in a position suggesting he just kicked the ball.

"Don't you dare think you're anything special just because you stopped ONE ball!" He yells and runs back for defense. Everyone's still in high spirits by the time halftime arrives. Everyone on Namimori's team are exhausted beyond belief from such intense plays and Kotsu still has only done his one 'impressive' thing. Luckily for him it seems that was enough to get Tsugemora's approval at the very least.

"Nice going out there everyone. We're only behind three points," Reborn says looking at the scoreboard. The score is 2-5, which is an UNBELIEVABLE score for a soccer game of any kind.

"B-but they're incredibly strong coach! We've only managed thanks to Ren, Taichi and our keeper! There's no way we can beat them," One of their members say to which Reborn smirks.

"not so. I have a plan for the second half," He says showing everyone a piece of paper with said plan on it. Everyone's eyes go wide before suddenly looking to Kotsu. "Kotsu. You're up for offense! Ren! Move to defense!" Kotsu points to himself just as confused.

"M-Me!?"


	6. Deadly game: Appear! My dying will!

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 6: Deadly game: Appear! My dying will!**

The deadly soccer game against Akatori is well under way. Halfway in fact. The score is 2-5 for Akatori and it's looking very dim especially for Kotsu who has just been assigned to the offense even though he has been somewhat next to worthless in the game. But he has to go along seeing as not only is the coach giving the orders a top-ranking hitman, but he ALSO has the extra assignment of somehow proving to their goalkeeper Tsugemora that he is Kotsu.

The game gets underway once more this time with Akatori's kickoff and in an instant they attack again. Okura tsks. "No going easy this time… we need to get rid of that boy at the goal! He's the second's bodyguard. He'll be nuisance later! Also does anyone have an idea of who the second even is…" he says before passing to one of the others.

"Not yet. However the boy who scored with that incredible kick seems to posses the best qualifications. I believe it to be him," He says and Okura smirks as his teammate kicks it into the air.

"then let's get this over with! COME! Ren!" He declares and Ren prepares himself trusting in their coach to know what he's doing putting him in defense. He smiles seeing his opponent get fired up as he kicks the ball straight for the goal and Ren gets in front of it. He jumps thinking he can easily block it with his chest, but he's bashed aside by the hyper-mass ball and Tsugemora once more forces it to stop, which was easier as it had slowed down a little. "Dammit…" He says going back and Kotsu overhears them talking. "You did activate the explosives in the ball right?"

"Yeah. As soon as it hits the goal it'll explode. But we got some damage in on the second at least," He says with a smirk seeing Ren laying on his back.

Tsugemora meanwhile panics at the sight of Ren being down. "Kotsukiba-san!" However right after that Ren jumps back to his feet.

"That was quite the kick there! Glad I was there to feel it! You really have a passion for soccer Okura!" He yells happily, sporting that bright smile and Okura looks annoyed at him seeing how carefree Ren appears to be. 'Damn him! He must've realized our intentions! He's challenging me! I'll crush him! I won't fail, Logan-san! Not this time!' He thinks angrily as he stands tall smirking.

"My next shot won't be so forgiving Vongola!" Ren blinks a little hearing himself be called Vongola.

"You guys are playing that mafia game too!?" He says before getting the ball from Tsugemora and after quickly securing it he kicks it up and soon after Taichi gets it smiling at Kotsu who's just panicked seeing Akatori's defenders.

"You must be at LEAST as good as Ren right?! Being his little brother," He says as he dribbles past a defender before passing to Kotsu who somehow manages to stabilize it. He attempts a goalkick, but naturally fails miserably and it's caught.

Reborn smirks slightly from his position as the coach. "I guess it's time to teach these mafia kids who exactly they're dealing with," Leon transforms from a whistle around his neck into a gun and he rapidfires two bullets at Kotsu's legs. The young boy feels the strange sensation and warmth.

"W-wha-" he tries but sees the Akatori keeper go for the long distance pass. "KOTSU! JUMP!" Reborn declares and Kotsu does as he's told right as the keeper kicks the ball somehow shooting into the air. He not only intercepts the ball but just keeps going quite a bit more before finally stopping flailing his limbs around like a fish out of water. "Woah woah woah woooooah!" He cries as he starts falling again somehow ending up landing on his feet and it didn't hurt at all. He thinks about doing another goalkick as the ball lands in front of him but passes to Taichi again instead, who makes a quick redirection of the ball into the net as Akatori's goalkeeper is really confused as to how Kotsu jumped that high. Not even Okura who's had intense training in such things can jump that high! However Kotsu is just as amazed. He has the sneaking suspicion that it was definitely not just his unharvested talent for soccer that just immerges but just the bullets Reborn shot him with acting.

 **-NII-**

The game continues for a little bit with Kotsu blocking almost all the long passes from Akatori's keeper and Tsugemora and Ren taking care of things on the other end whenever something gets through.

"Kotsu!" Taichi yells passing to him and Kotsu tries to stop the ball sadly he fails, but their third forward is there to cover for him. He kicks for the goal, but it's once more intercepted by the keeper.

"You guys… are REALLY annoyingly stubborn! OKURA!" He yells kicking the ball much harder than before sending it over the entire field and Kotsu sees the blinking light indicating that it'll explode, causing his eyes to go wide. That'll kill Tsugemora if it gets in the goal! Okura jumps into the air for the meteor kick and Reborn takes out his pistol again shooting another bullet at Kotsu.

"Stop him Kotsu," He simply says as Kotsu's hit dead on. 'I'm dying… again? I guess I failed… I couldn't convince Tsugemora, but most importantly… if only I could've prevented his death…' He thinks as he lands and Taichi's about to go check on him when he shoots off the ground again his clothes burning off and the purple flame erupting on his forehead once more.

"RE… BOOOOOORNNN! I WILL STOP THIS SHOT WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells as he sets off to stop the shot taking place on the opposite half of the field. "I'LL… MAKE IIIIITTTT!" He yells once more before jumping, the effect of Reborn's jumping bullets amplified by the dying will making the young boy shoot halfway across the field in a single jump, getting in the between the ball and Okura who was just about in position to shoot and Kotsu kicks the ball with his bare foot sending it flying the other way. Tsugemora's eyes widen. This is what he had been told of the Neo Vongola Secondo's power…

The keeper in Akatori's goal gets a bit panicked seeing the intense kick knowing that the hyper-mass has activated thanks to the velocity. So he simply jumps forward to avoid taking the explosion head on, however after it hits the goal nothing happens. He looks back seeing that the ball is jittering. Kotsu broke the explosive mechanism?! The boy slowly pick up the ball afraid it'll explode any minute.

"W-we surrender!" he yells and everyone on Akatori quickly agrees. "Y-you guys… you're crazy!" Okura yells before they all simply run away without saying good game or anything of the sort. Kotsu's flame disappears and he blinks making his eyes go back to normal. Before he even has time to be embarrassed about his lack of clothes he's picked up and tossed in the air by the entire team.

"KOTSU! KOTSU! KOTSU!" they all yell happily especially Ren. Tsugemora meanwhile is standing in the goal, still as a rock looking at him. They all put Kotsu down and he looks at Tsugemora who's just trembling quite a bit.

"H-hey… I guess I couldn't really convince you that I'm Kotsukiba could I?" He says laughing nervously before Tsugemora goes to the goalpost and starts furiously banging his head against it.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOO!" He yells and Kotsu quickly stops him.

"W-woah woah woah! What're you doing!?" He says noting that the young boy starts bleeding from his forehead from doing it so hard.

"I can't believe it! You totally had me fooled with your act! A-as expected of the neo Vongola secondo…" He says slowly almost annoyed with himself. "B-but I know now! YOU! YOU are the REAL Neo Vongola Secondo!" He looks to Ren who's just chatting with Taichi being thanked for playing in the game. "YOU!" Tsugemora says stomping over. "How dare you impersonate the great Kotsukiba Niruo!?" He yells about to start a fight and Ren just holds up his hands in defense.

"H-hey now… I never said I was my lil' bro…" However before Tsugemora gets too close, Reborn clears his throat now out of his coach disguise.

"Tsugemora. Leave him alone,"

Tsugemora quickly spins before doing honors to Reborn. "Yes Reborn-san!" He yells proudly and Kotsu laughs nervously. 'W-was it really a good thing that I convinced him that I'm me…?' He thinks as Tsugemora gets up beside him throwing away his goalkeeping gloves and Kotsu's eyes widen seeing how absolutely smashed his hands are. He's bleeding and torn in multiple places from the punches to the incredibly hard ball everything, but Tsugemora isn't even reacting to the pain.

"A-are you alright Tsugemora?" Tsugemora looks almost confused.

"I'm good! Happy to finally realize that you are you!" He says throwing a hand in the air as if in triumph, smirking happily.

"B-but… you're bleeding…"

Tsugemora looks at his hands realizing that he is in fact bleeding. "Oh… I did think the inside of my gloves got really sweaty…" He quickly looks to Kotsu before hiding his hands. "I-It's not bothering you is it Kotsukiba-san!?" He says panicking a little.

"D-doesn't it… you know… hurt a lot?"

"Not at all Kotsukiba-san! I had my nerves fried! I can't feel pain!" He says proudly and Kotsu gulps.

"F-fried your nerves…? H-how… WHAT?!" he asks not understanding what's being said.

"Simple Kotsukiba-san! I got tired to a giant metal cross and they electrocuted me until I could no longer feel pain!" He says with not a hint of secrecy or shame and Kotsu looks almost horrified at him. This kid is WAY past insane! However he supposes it works out with his personality…

Kotsu grabs his bag to change back into his school uniform just so he doesn't have to walk home in just his boxers. He also decides that it would be a good idea to change the subject from what sounds like torture to something else. "D-do you HAVE to call me Kotsukiba-san…? It's SUCH a mouthful… can you think of some kind of nickname or… just call me Kotsu like everyone else…?" He asks as kindly as he can with the boy walking so close to him.

Tsugemora thinks for a little moment. "W-what about… Nii-san…?" He asks sounding almost shy.

Kotsu looks a little strangely at him. He's never been called THAT before. Likely due to the fact that he's the youngest brother in his family. "S-sure… but why though…?"

"W-well. Because I look up to Ko-I mean Nii-san! And you're also the second boss of the neo vongola! Ni means two so Nii-san would mean second-san. And in Roman numerals two is written as two I's so neo second would be N-II. Nii-san. It's a triple meaning! AND san means three in Japanese as well as being an honorific that you give to a person you look up to… right?" Kotsu is simply stunned. What's with this kid? Just minutes ago he wouldn't even talk to Kotsu and now he suddenly looks up to him like an older brother of sorts. But Kotsu gets the sneaking suspicion that while he wants to make him leave, since he doesn't really need a bodyguard, that won't be happening.

"O-okay… I guess you can call me Nii-san…"

Tsugemora jumps in happiness. "YES! Alright! Thank you Kot… I mean Nii-san!" He says and Kotsu starts walking home after saying goodbye to Ren who's staying for a little more practice on his dancing.

"S-so… Tsugemora… w-why are YOU assigned as my bodyguard…? I mean… aren't there… better… people?" Kotsu asks a little hesitant and Tsugemora stops walking before taking out a fiber wire from his pocket wrapping it around his neck.

"Nii-san isn't happy with me… I guess that means I'm worthless…" He says about to pull the wires apart and decapitate himself, luckily Kotsu stops him.

"Tsugemora!? What are you doing!?" he says quickly unraveling the wire and Tsugemora falls to his knees.

"I have failed Nii-san twice in a single moment… this must be my divine punishment for saying such rude words to you while you were disguised as a loser…" He says and Kotsu gets a blankly annoyed expression on his face seeing as he wasn't disguised or acting.

"T-that's alright… j-just… don't… kill yourself… I guess…" Tsugemora jumps up back to being happy again.

"As you say Nii-san!"

Kotsu can't help but find this strange boy weird. His constant mood-swings. The fact that he didn't hesitate to hurt himself just to stop a ball. The fact that he's saying he can't feel pain. If he's going to be around… then things will get even crazier than they already are!


	7. Overlord of the universe

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 7: Overlord of the universe**

School's out for the last time that week and Kotsu couldn't be happier after the last couple of days he's had, with meeting Tsugemora and the boy's constant clinginess. Not a second after the young middle-schooler exits the school gate the very same boy crashes into Kotsu at max speed. "NII-SAAAAAAAAN!" He knocks Kotsu off his feet and the two slide across the ground.

Kotsu rubs his head where Tsugemora crashed into it. "Itetete. That hurt you know?"

In the same moment Kotsu says the word hurt, Tsugemora stands taking out his fiber wire and starts wrapping it around his neck looking depressed and disappointed in himself. "Well… I failed," He says thinking they will be his final words, about to decapitate himself. However Kotsu manages to hold his hands close to his neck so he can't pull on the wire.

"I thought I told you to just apologize instead of trying to kill yourself!" Kotsu yells almost angry with his young bodyguard. In response, Tsugemora quickly puts his wire away.

"I-I'm sorry Nii-san… was that a good apology?" He asks making Kotsu ponder whether or not Tsugemora's ever had to apologize for anything in his life.

Kotsu pats Tsugemora on the head, not really knowing why, just feeling like it's appropriate for some reason. "I… guess it was good. I'm just glad you didn't commit seppuku," At this moment Kotsu also wonders why that sentence felt so normal to say.

Tsugemora nods changing back to happy in an instant, thereafter taking out his notebook writing down how he should apologize in the future.

 **-NII-**

After walking for a bit they finally reach Kotsu's house. Right outside the porch door is the man, the myth, the legend, Reborn and he looks incredibly angry much to Kotsu's displeasure.

"Oh no… what did I do this time?" he pleads to himself, but as the two of them approach, Reborn simply throws something small and red at Kotsu who frantically grabs it almost dropping it multiple times.

"This is yours," He simply says before heading inside. Kotsu examines it closer finding that it's strangely a big ball of red hair.

"What… is this thing?" He says going inside himself and Tsugemora closes in on it inspecting it with watchful eyes.

"Hmmm… I don't know Nii-san… but Reborn-san wouldn't give you something that could be potentially harmful to your health I would assume…" He says, but Kotsu's not so sure about the validity of that statement given what he knows about the hitman in question.

After quickly getting inside Tsugemora is still amazed by his simple quite ordinary house. In the past few days Tsugemora has stuck to him like a leech. As such he'd become quite familiar with both the layout of his house as well as having gotten to know his mom who thinks he's a cute boy. But he's still this amazed by just walking in his house? There's definitely something wrong with him…

They make their way to Kotsu's room. However as soon as they close the door the ball starts moving. "What the…?!" Kotsu exclaims as it jumps into the air, Tsugemora instantly having his fiber wire out to kill whatever happens to be concealed inside the tiny hairball. It lands on Kotsu's desk and the hair moves back revealing a small figure. It's wearing a red onesie with a black skull on it. All the hair moves back into long spikes going backwards with one going out diagonally down over its face and reveals that this thing has tiny spiky red eyebrows, and flashy red eye-lashes. Its hair is also incredibly long for its age almost reaching the floor though this person isn't very big so that might explain it. It rubs it's cute brown eyes and looks tiredly at Kotsu and Tsugemora. "Who dares wake up the greatest Cotton-heika..?" (Heika is the Japanese honorific used to refer to royalty)

Kotsu blinks a couple of times in surprise. However before even a second passes Tsugemora leaps for the little person, named Cotton. Quite a strange name to be sure. "Don't worry Nii-san! I will get it!" He yells and Cotton jumps onto Tsugemora's head laughing.

"TAIHAHAHA! Foolish mortal! Cotton-heika is invincible!" Cotton declares stomping her little foot on Tsugemora's head.

"T-Tsugemora! Stop! He's not doing anything to harm me," However as he finishes that sentence he notes how Cotton's cheeks are puffing up. The little red-head grabs something from the onesie. A stick-lighter and then proceeds to leap at Kotsu.

"Cotton-heika is NOT a boy! Cotton-heika is a pretty lady!" She yells as she headbutts Kotsu both of them falling back on the bed. She turns on the lighter about to torch Kotsu's hair when Tsugemora grabs her by the back of the onesie pulling her away much to her own childish dismay.

"How shall I kill her Nii-san?" Tsugemora says making the little girl squirm.

"NO! Cotton-heika will not be killed by mortal hands!" Tsugemora looks like he's about to literally toss her into the ground and stomp on her as Kotsu quickly grabs her right back.

"W-what!? Nonono! Geez Tsugemora! M-maybe she's just scared…" once more a huge mistake on Kotsu's part as Cotton does NOT take kindly to people calling her scared. She starts banging on Kotsu's head before jumping off and grabbing onto his ceiling lamp.

"I got her Nii-san!" Tsugemora exclaims and before Kotsu can stop him the hopeless bodyguard he leaps for the little girl who just jumps leading Tsugemora to crash into his bed and Kotsu is forced to attempt to secure the little girl to the best of his abilities but Cotton just keeps bouncing around the room dodging both the boys. She jumps for the door which is opened and Reborn catches her easily. He's been standing there a while…

"You two really are useless aren't you…?" he says and Ren pokes his head out from the side.

"Hey lil' bro… what's with the baby?" he asks, but before anyone can answer him, not that anyone has an answer anyway, Cotton squirms before picking out the lighter again. She turns it on but can't reach Reborn's sleeve. However she seems to go for her own hair this time.

"BURNING HAIR ACTIVATE!" She declares, but before she can do so, Reborn stops her by taking the lighter away. Kotsu, Tsugemora and Ren look curiously at the little girl as she throws a hissy fit from getting her lighter taken away

"Burning hair? What's that?" All three ask and Cotton pouts angrily.

"The burning hair is what we Rosa Rossa family heirs are known for and it will DESTROY all you mortals!" None of them understood that explanation any better. The Rosa Rossa family? Do the all just set fire to their hair? Luckily Reborn is in a talkative mood today it seems as he clears his throat.

"The Rosa Rossa family is another mafia family. There've been rumors that they're making a branch here in Japan due to the announcement from Neo Vongola Primo that there will be a new boss of the Vongola family, but I'm not sure if it was true or not. The Rosa Rossa family's heirs are known for the burning hair. It's a result of their rough training at a young age. The heirs are all thrown into a burning hot pit for the first three years of their life and that's where they learn the burning hair skill, which lets them set fire to their own hair without burning it off. Nothing special," Kotsu and Ren just blink at the totally bonkers explanation they've just been given. Tsugemora however seems to find it to be quite satisfactory.

"Um… okay? If that's true, then that must mean Cotton has it too… right? Is it a… strong… ability?" Kotsu asks and Reborn nods.

"It's quite a powerful tool indeed," All three of them are now left wondering just how useful hair that burns can possibly be. But if Reborn himself is complimenting it's strength then Kotsu and Tsugemora definitely knows that it's strong.

Cotton gets a little down now hanging lifeless from Reborn's hand. "Cotton-heika has yet to acquire that ability…" She says and Reborn just drops her. "You meanie! How dare you do that to Cotton-heika?! You will be Cotton-heika's number one slave when she takes over the world! NO! The universe!" Reborn walks right past her. "HEY! Cotton-heika demands attention!" She yells angrily at Reborn.

Ren picks her up and throws her in the air. "There we go little one. Fly free," He starts running around Kotsu's room holding Cotton like an airplane and making the appropriate noises.

"Prepare for landing," He says in an airplane captain's voice and he lightly throws Cotton onto Kotsu's bed. She lands and pouts angrily not wanting to be treated like a child… even though she is…

However all that is tossed aside as the young girl falls asleep in an instant. Kotsu, Ren and Tsugemora alike can't help but think that that was WAY too fast for any ordinary human. But good for them is… she fell asleep. Meaning she's now quiet and cute again.

"So um… where can we put her so she sleeps soundly?" Kotsu asks and his two companions think for a second.

"She could sleep near the fireplace. We'll just put a blanket over her," Ren suggests and Tsugemora gets a little angry.

"I say we put her to sleep outside of Nii-san's precious home! Who knows!? She might be able to destroy everything while SLEEPING too!"

"Come on Tsugemora. She's harmless…" Kotsu says picking her up.

They go down to the Livingroom and tug her in.

"You think mom will mind having another baby to take care of?" Ren blinks a couple of times.

"I don't know. I never really thought of that. Let's hope she says yes."


	8. The fiery red rose

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 8: The fiery red rose**

Given the literal law of nature that seems to happen around Kotsu after Reborn came into his life, NOTHING can go right for him and his mom naturally agreed to just… let Cotton live there without any issues. In fact! His mother was even almost HAPPY to have a cute girl to take care of. Cotton… was not. She just wanted to make a ruckus, but Kotsu's mom had a way of calming her down to just a normal child.

 **-NII-**

It's been a week now of Cotton living with them. She tried to murder Kotsu on multiple occasions, but Tsugemora always stopped her. She'd grown quite fond of Tsugemora in fact. He never reacted when she pulling his hair when laying on his head. Something she quite enjoys it seems.

Tsugemora is currently walking patrol around the house looking for intruders, everyone but him being certain that there are none at all. Kotsu's mother comes down the stairs with Cotton in her arms. "Kotsu! Tsugemora-kun! Ren! Would you guys mind taking Cotton for a little walk?" She says happily and Tsugemora almost teleports in front of her with how fast he goes bowing to her.

"Yes ma'am!" Ren and Kotsu come down the stairs, Ren happy as always. Kotsu… not so much.

"But why mom…?"

"Reborn-san said that it is a good exercise for you,"

"Of course he did…" Kotsu says as he's handed Cotton who without pause just punches him in the face before jumping onto Tsugemora's head.

"Cotton-heika likes this one better. Tsugemortal is a comfy mortal!" she says hugging the top of his head. "You make Cotton-heika feel safe," She adds and Tsugemora just blinks a little.

"Um… okay…" However he turns back to a smile. "Glad I'm doing my job then Cotton!" She bangs him on the head angrily.

"Cotton-heika demands that you call her either Cotton-heika or lady Cotton!"

"I only call Nii-san by a special high-authoritative name!" He says and Kotsu sighs. Is Nii-san really such a special high-authoritative name? Probably not…

Ren is already at the door. "Alright you three! Let's go for a walk!" He says happily and Kotsu just ends up forced to go along.

They walk out onto the street and Ren stretches happily. "And just like that lil' bro! We're doing something together again!" He says happily and Tsugemora gets in between the two brothers looking quite upset at Ren.

"Hey! Don't step too close to Nii-san! You fooled me into thinking he was you so you might be planning to fool Nii-san as well!"

"I… never did that. And I'd never lie to my lil' bro. Or fool him in any way," he adds on top. As they reach a little cross-section Cotton suddenly jumps from Tsugemora's head and onto the ground sprinting back the way they came, having felt something she did NOT want to feel.

"Cotton! You can't go on your own!" Kotsu says going after her soon followed by Tsugemora and Ren.

"C-Cotton-heika forgot something at home! S-she will return shortly! S-she knows the way home!" She says and they all stop going after her a little. Ren suddenly feels someone turn the corner they were just at as the person bumps into him and fall as the person was running, while Ren keeps his balance.

"Iteee! Watch where you're walking idiot!" A female voice yells and Ren turns around with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry about that miss. But I was standing still…" He says holding out his hand and as soon as he does he feels two shadows looming over him making him get a slight chill. Kotsu and Tsugemora both hear the start of a conversation and turn to look seeing three strange people, one of whom Ren just bumped into. That person being the only girl among the group. She looks to be around 15, same as Ren, with incredibly long crimson-red hair, set over one of her eyes and then falling in front of her body in a three-strand braid, yet it still reaches her thigh. He looks to the other two boys. The first also appears to be around 15 also and like the girl he has crimson hair and his is just as long as hers. It falls in two long thick tufts down his back, then fold upwards meeting in a very large hairclip, but it's so long that it does the same thing over and over again at least 5 times. 'These guys just LOOK like trouble!' He thinks and Tsugemora is instantly in front of him holding out his wire.

"I will not let you get to the amazing Nii-san!" He yells, however, the boy seems more concerned with Ren as he's helping the girl stand up.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing to my sis, Bro!?" The smaller boy says angrily. "You ain't got a snowball's chance in hell with her got it!? You really think you've got that chance?!" he adds getting right up in Ren's face with Ren holding up his hands in defense.

"Oh. No. Not at all. I just helped her up after I made her fall," The boy grabs Ren's collar making as intimidating a face as possible and Kotsu gulps wondering when on earth he'll be able to meet someone sane.

"So you made my lil' sis fall did ya!?" The little sister grabs the boys hands and makes him let go.

"Who cares Cane?" She says and the boy just puts his hands behind his head pouting.

"Just trying to protect my lil' sis is all, Cocoa," He says and the oldest boy grits his teeth and clears his throat. He looks a lot older than the rest. Around 22. He's much taller than Ren and therefore towers over everyone present and his hair, like the other two, is also crimson and the longest of them all. By far the longest hair any of the three have ever seen. It is set in a long waterfall braid around his entire head and the braids that would fall in his face are instead slicked back and held in place by a hairclip. The hair in the back folds outwards making it look a little bit like wings. Each of them are wearing a similar style of clothes. A pair of loose dark jeans with matching tank-tops for the two boys and a criminal t-shirt for Cocoa.

"Be quiet you two," he says bonking them lightly on the head authoritatively, not to hurt them. As such both the younger crimson-haired people quiet down and bow their head at the older boy.

"Of course Jute-nii-san," They both say and the largest boy, Jute, smiles and pats them both on the head as if to correct the 'damage' he just caused.

"It's always good for siblings to fight occasionally, but only… if they make up afterwards. That's what we're all about and also why we're here. Remember that," He says and both his siblings nod and smile at each other. Then Cocoa and Cane hug.

"It sure is," they say in unison.

Meanwhile Ren, Tsugemora, and Kotsu are just looking rather strangely at the three siblings.

"hey… Sorry for making you fall," Ren says not trying to get in the way of their sibling moment. Cocoa just tsks happily his way with a flattered wave of the hand. Kotsu can almost feel her royal 'aura' from where he's standing.

"Oh don't worry. If either of us had been looking where we were going it wouldn't have happened. It's just as much my fault as it is yours," She says with a little laugh and Ren grins holding out his hand for a handshake.

"I'm glad we both feel the same. I'm Ren. Ren Niruo," He says and Cocoa shakes his hand much to Cane's dismay.

"Good to meet you. I'm Cocoa Rossa…" She introduces, and Kotsu recognizes that last name, but he can't quite put his finger on where he heard it. "This doofus is my twin brother Cane Rossa and…" Cane raises a casual hand trying to look cool, which kind of works.

She's about to formally introduce Jute when he takes a big step forward. "I am Jute Rossa. The heir of the Rosa Rossa family," He says and Kotsu gets a little afraid once more at his giant stature, his hair only emphasizing his size. It finally snaps in Kotsu's head as the Rosa Rossa family is none other than Cotton's family as she mentioned back when Kotsu first met her.

"A family huh…?" Ren says realizing it must have something to do with that 'game' Kotsu's playing. "So you guys play that mafia game too? Nice to meet you," Jute smiles as well.

"Indeed. We are looking for our little sister. Her name is Cotton," He says and everyone takes a little step back. Was… that why Cotton ran away…? She felt them nearing her…?

Ren points back the way they came. "She went that way just now. We were taking her for a walk," Cane grabs Ren's collar again looking angrily into his eyes.

"So you bastards kidnapped that little brat!?" He declares before instantly letting go feeling Jute's authority looming over him.

"Cotton is no brat Cane. She is a valued member of our family," He says and Cane just takes a step back and tsks.

"Not at all. She's useless. Even father doesn't approve of her. And he's the BOSS!"

Just then Jute hits him over the head quite a bit harder this time sounding almost angry. "Do not speak ill of our little sister! And using father is NO excuse for disliking her!" He yells and Cane slowly stands up shaking his head. "Where is she Cocoa?" He asks turning his attention to his sister.

Cocoa closes her eyes before pointing in a direction which is not where Kotsu's house is. "That way Jute-nii-san,"

"Very well," he looks at Kotsu and his group. "Let us go together. It appears you are searching for her as well correct?"

Kotsu snaps out of his almost trance. "Y-yeah… she suddenly ran off… I think she doesn't… want to see you guys…" He says and Jute sighs.

"Sadly that is true… but our father has ordered that she returns with us to Italy," he says avoiding using the term boss since he still doesn't know about Kotsu's involvement with the Vongola. "There're some quite dangerous people here in Japan and a little girl such as her shouldn't be all alone…" He says clearly very worried for his little sister's safety.

Ren smiles at the statement. "I feel your worry. But no need for it! She's fine living with us!" He says with a thumbs up.

The group begins walking with Cocoa leading up front with Cane by her side and Jute following behind with Tsugemora watching closely for any actions that might put Kotsu in danger. Which very likely won't even happen. "I'm sure she's doing just fine with you Ren. But… our father has quite a lot of information which Cotton knows that might… compromise our family," He says and Ren chuckles a little.

"It's for that mafia game right?! My lil' bro Kotsu here ALSO plays that game. He's been chosen as the next boss of a really 'strong' family you see!? It's called the Vogla family or something," He says like it's no big deal. Kotsu gets a little scared now that these people know who he is.

"I see… so you are the next vongola boss? That must be why you have found Cotton. Before she ran away she said she'd find and kill you to prove that she was useful. And so she could take over the universe," He finishes and Kotsu can easily that's something Cotton would say. But only the second part.

"She… wants to be useful…?" Kotsu asks looking a little confused.

"There she is!" Cocoa declares pointing frantically at a little red spec running along the ground in between people's legs.

"Cane!" Jute yells and the young boy nods before setting off.

"Got it! Cotton!" He yells and the little girl jumps in fear before speeding up trying to get away but naturally Cane is much faster.

"W-wait!" Kotsu tries. "S-she's scared!" He tries and right before Cane gets to her someone blasts right past him grabbing up the little girl in his arms. It's Ren.

"Nice catch!" Cane says and Ren smiles at him.

"Thanks," Cotton tries escaping as Cane holds out his hand.

"Now hand her over so we can both get on our way," However at this point Ren takes a little step back.

"Not happening. You might be her big brother, but she didn't exactly seem to want to go with you," He says holding her away and Kotsu and Tsugemora get in front. Jute and Cocoa also walks up to them, just in time for Cocoa to hold Cane back before he attacks Ren.

"Now now Cane. Getting angry will do the opposite of what we want. We simply want our little sister to come home. I'm worried about her," Jute says holding out his hand and Cotton cowers a little. Very atypical behavior from what they all know. "I see… So what now?" Jute asks well-knowing that if they really wanted to they could easily snatch Cotton away from them, however doing so would likely create a WHOLE lot of trouble. With Kotsu being there and Tsugemora too.

"What now…?" Ren asks not really having thought things through but Kotsu steps forward a little.

"W-what do you MEAN what now!? W-what is there to do!?" He tries and Cane grits his teeth.

"Shut your face kid before I shut it for you," However Kotsu notes Jute calming his younger brother again.

"Careful now Cane. That boy is the next head of the Vongola family," He says and they all have a bit of a stalemate for a few minutes no one daring to make a move, except Cotton who's just clambering to Ren's chest.

"This is getting boring to watch," A voice says from a rooftop and Tsugemora quickly takes out his fiber wire to confront the person, but quickly packs it away again seeing that it's Reborn.

The Rossa rosa siblings all recognize him. "You are the hitman Reborn, correct?"

The hitman nods jumping onto the ground straight from the roof easily. "that's right. I've been assigned as Kotsu's tutor, to teach him the mafia ways. So going through him is the same as going through him," He says and Kotsu seemed a little more confident in their stance until the last part.

"What does that even mean!?"

"Go ahead and attack. I won't stop you. It'll be a good practice for them all. You are Jute correct? That's even better. Shall we see who's the strongest then. The heir of the Rossa rosa family, or the heir to the Vongola family?" He tries and Kotsu can do nothing but watch it happen.

"I don't think that's a good idea… I didn't come to Japan to fight. Simply to get my little sister home safe," Jute adds and Reborn sighs.

"Disappointing. But oh well… then I propose-" He starts but suddenly Cotton manages to escape Ren's arms.

"Cotton-heika will not be kept as prisoner!" She yells managing to catch the nearby cross-section before it turns red. The group run to it seeing her disappear on the other side.

"This is bad! S-she could easily hurt herself," Kotsu tries and Cane is about to step out to stop the traffic, but Cocoa stops him.

"We don't wanna cause trouble more than necessary idiot!" She says and they all impatiently wait for it to turn green again, rushing over as soon as the signal is given. However they quickly realize that they've lost her. Cocoa quickly identifies where she is again. Seeing it now Kotsu is lead to wonder exactly how she does that.

"She went this way!" She declares and everyone starts running. She leads them all around Namimori, but it seems that somehow Cotton keeps being elsewhere.

"W-what's going on!?" Kotsu yells as they once more stop at a place where Cocoa said Cotton would be.

"S-she… keeps getting away. This shouldn't even be possible! I KNOW she has the hair on her!" She says in frustration and disbelief that she's been unable to find her.

"What hair?" Tsugemora asks with a tilted head. Cane just tsks again.

"Quiet idiot. Her burning radar OBVIOUSLY uses hair she's planted at placed to find them again. Duh!" He says and Kotsu is just… flabbergasted. HOW is that obvious!?

However before anyone can ask him to explain properly there's a scream of a little girl. With the pitch and volume of such a scream it could ONLY be Cotton. Tsugemora this time leads the front. "WHATEVER! We can follow a voice MUCH better!" He yells and Cane is right behind him.

"Shut it! Her radar GOT us here didn't it!?" The two almost have a bout right there, but are interrupted as they arrive at their location. An alley with five large men holding Cotton by her hair, with the little girl squirming like crazy.

"Let go of Cotton-heika mortals! Or she will rain divine punishment upon you!" She yells angrily and the thug holding her just holds up his hands showing a tattoo on his arm. A wolf with cyan eyes, which Reborn seems to recognize.

Cane steps forward looking angrily at the thugs. Each of them is taller than the young boy by at least a head, but he looks unfazed. "Let go of her. Or I'll crush ALL of you!" Tsugemora joins him.

"Yeah! Nii-san cares about her! So I will also break you guys!"

The thugs all laugh loudly. "You're kidding right!? What's a bunch of kids going to do!?" One of them yells and Reborn pushes both of them back, before pushing Kotsu forward.

"Nothing. It's just going to be this guy," He says calmly and Kotsu panics looking at them.

"W-what!? A-are you crazy Reborn!?" He tries and Ren seems to understand.

"Oooohh… this is part of that game too!?" he says thinking there's no way Reborn would ACTUALLY put Kotsu in danger. But Kotsu knows better. He's likely to just get… pummeled.

"W-what!? Ren! Talk him out of it!"

"No way! You're the main character of this game, right?! You'll win no problem and save Cotton right!?" Kotsu looks back seeing Cotton look really frightened, though she's hiding it behind anger and the squirming.

"B-but… there's no wa-" He tries before feeling himself getting shot in the back of the head. 'Again!? I-I'm dying… Leaving this world forever. If only I could've done something… saved Cotton…' he lands and the thugs all look really confused at Reborn as Leon transforms back into a lizard on Reborn's hat.

"W-what'd you just-"

However they're cut off as Kotsu's clothes burst off except his boxers and he is forced to his feet, the purple flame bursting out from his forehead. "RE… BOOOOOORNNN! I WILL PROTECT COTTON WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells much to the Rossa siblings' surprise. Kotsu charges forward towards the thugs.

"D-don't come closer or we'll kill her!" The thugs tries but Kotsu suddenly kicks a brick laying at the side of the alley straight into the thugs face.

"COTTON WILL NOT BE HURT!" He yells jumping forward, ramming his head straight into the stomach of the man holding Cotton making him let go before flying backwards. She lands on his head clamping on for dear life as Kotsu throws a few punches knocking every thug down with one powerful strike and they all limp away in a hurry as Kotsu yells off the top of his lungs. "FIRST THREAT ELIMINATED!" He yells and Cane steps forward once more.

"Good job. Now ha-" he tries as Kotsu takes an overexaggerated step backwards.

"SECOND THREAT APPEARS!" He yells and looks angrily at Cane as Cotton looks down at him.

"M-mortal-kun…"

"SHE DOESN'T WANT TO GO WITH YOU!" Kotsu yells on top and Cane grits his teeth.

"Enough of this nonsense! WE HAVE ORDERS!" He yells and everyone swears they see his hair spark with electricity before Cane suddenly feels himself almost physically get weaker from Jute's stare.

"Since you like to follow orders then here's another Cane. Stand down. There will be no fighting," He says and Kotsu's flame starts disappearing and he passes out falling backwards.

"Mortal-kun!" Cotton yells jumping off and landing on his chest. Reborn goes forward picking him up.

"here is what will happen now. We will go to Kotsu's house. We have things we need to discuss. Such as those thugs," he says looking at Tsugemora specifically and Tsugemora seems to know what he's talking about.

Jute nods. "Indeed. There is a solution to this that doesn't involve a conflict between our families."

 **-NII-**

They reach Kotsu's house and go inside. Kotsu's mother looks very strangely at the three new characters who all have the most insane hair they've ever seen enter the house.

"Um… hello," Kotsu's mom starts and Jute smiles at her.

"May we come in? We have something to discuss with you all," He says and Reborn just nods.

"They need to speak with me over Cotton specifically. They are her siblings who wish to bring her back to Italy with them,"

"Oh my! Well come on in then!" Kotsu's mother says, jumping almost excitedly Reborn handing Kotsu to Ren who carries him upstairs much to Tsugemora's dismay.

Jute looks at Kotsu's mom and smiles very gently. "And you must be Kotsu's sister," He says knowingly causing her to blush.

"Oh you… I don't look that young. Please come in. I'm Masumi Niruo," She's flattered beyond belief and the three of them go inside making sure to take off their shoes.


	9. Kotsu's first decision

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 9: Kotsu's first decision**

Everyone gathers around the dinner table while Kotsu is upstairs sleeping off his dying will burst. The table is packed with all the people. Quite honestly the craziest-looking gathering Ren's ever seen. Reborn, Ren, Tsugemora, Jute, Cane, Cocoa, Cotton though she's sitting ON the table while Masumi is in the kitchen making tea and snacks.

"Alright. Get on with it then Jute. What do you propose we do about the situation with this little pest?" Reborn asks leaned back in his chair calm and collected as always. Cotton pouts angrily at the rude way of referring to her.

"Well… it's a difficult situation isn't it? Being two large families, if we begin fighting our respective bosses will need to get involved which I'm certain neither of us wants," he says and Cane grits his teeth angrily.

"We could just kill'em all and no one'd know," He whispers mostly to himself before Cocoa hits him over the head.

"that's a terrible idea idiot!"

"Take her," Reborn says pushing Cotton across the table. Masumi puts the snacks down thinking it's a game, having heard about it from Ren.

"Isn't that a little sudden Reborn?" She says with a little nervous laugh.

"Not at all. They're related by blood. We're not," However at this point Cotton jumps up with tears in her eyes.

"We are NOT family! I HATE my daddy! All of us have different mothers! And I hate him for just throwing away my mommy!" She yells and jumps into Masumi's arms.

"R-really… is that true mister Jute?" She asks and Jute nods slowly.

"It is sadly. We're all halfsiblings. In our family the heads of the family have as many children as possible to make sure our burning hair is carried through generations," He says picking a little lock of his hair to show them. "I do not approve of this system either, but rules are rules," he says and Cotton pouts angrily at him.

"You're a meanie Jute-nii-san!" She yells and buries her face in Masumi's chest.

"Take her anyway. We have no say in it," Reborn says and Cane stands up.

"That's what I've been saying but none of you listen to me!"

"Everyone calm yourselves," Jute says sighing heavily. "But even I don't see another alternative for solving this. I'm sorry Cotton…" he says holding out his arm to take Cotton away from Masumi and the little girl holds on tighter to the woman, who's reluctant to let go, but it's the rules of the game.

However the exchange is interrupted by a certain someone rushing down the stairs having heard things from upstairs. Kotsu swings into the livingroom. "Then I'll make an alliance with the Rosa Rossa family!" Kotsu yells right after entering the room.

Everyone look at him very strangely. It's pretty evident that he JUST heard the last part of the conversation.

"What did you just say?" Reborn asks looking slightly annoyed at his student.

"If we make an alliance then Cotton doesn't have to leave!" Kotsu says and Cotton's eyes light up with hope.

"But why should the Rosa Rossa family make an alliance with you other than to get Cotton to stay with you!?" Cane yells and Jute places a hand on his brother's shoulder which almost seems to be a theme at this point.

"Calm down Cane. I must ask why you have authority to make an alliance with us? Only the current boss of the vongola is allowed to do that,"

"The current boss has chosen me as his successor. A-and I say that I want to make an alliance with the Rosa Rossa family! That HAS to count for something right!?" He adds sounding pretty demanding for once. Cane gets close to him, but before he can reach him completely Tsugemora pops up in front of him.

"Don't come close to Nii-san," Reborn nods slowly along with Jute.

"I will look into this proposal. I must call father," Jute says and stands up walking out of the room taking out a phone. The three remaining Rossa's all gulp at the mention of 'father'.

Reborn grunts. "I guess I'll see what neo-good-Primo has to say too," He says making a wordplay on the nickname no-good-Tsuna he always calls him and his status as Neo Primo, walking out as well also taking out a phone.

However, Kotsu gets up and walks after him. "Reborn… p-please let me speak with him,"

Reborn sends him an angry stare piercing his soul. "You know nothing about how a deal like this happens. Why should I let you talk to him?"

"Because Cotton is my friend," Reborn sighs and pushes Kotsu outside.

"Alright. Let me speak first," He says and dials up a number. As soon as he does an orange flame pops out of the phone.

"What is that?" Reborn holds out the pacifier around his neck and puts it into the fire and the flame disappears and he puts the phone to his ear.

"Hello. I would like to have a word with Neo Primo. This is Reborn," He listens for a few seconds. Then a voice comes through on the other side.

 _"_ _Hello, Reborn-san. To what to I owe the pleasure?"_ Primo says from the other end sitting in a big chair in an office looking out a window to a large garden.

Reborn looks at Kotsu almost angrily still. "There's a certain chosen brat who wants to talk to you about something,"

 _"_ _I see… I was wondering when he'd ask to speak to me. Took longer than I expected,"_ Reborn hands Kotsu the phone and Kotsu gently puts it to his ear, almost afraid of dropping it as it IS Reborn's phone.

"Um… hello. This is… Kotsu… I don't really know how to address you… sir…" Kotsu starts and Primo chuckles hearing Kotsu's voice for the first time. He sounds quite gentle and kind. Just as he wanted.

 _"_ _That's quite alright Kotsu. You can call me whatever you wish. I don't ask to be called anything. What can I do for you, Kotsu?"_ Kotsu gulps hearing so much kindness, authority and almost a fatherly tone in his voice. A voice that can be trusted one hundred percent.

"O-Okay… I'll just call you Primo-san then. So um… Primo-san… H-have you heard about… um… the Rosa Rossa family?" Primo slowly nods and makes an approving sound knowing that there's no way Kotsu can actually see him nodding.

 _"_ _Mhm… I have. Have you gotten in trouble with them by any chance?"_ he asks in a more serious tone.

"Wha-n-n-no! I mean… no Primo-san… I haven't… sort of…" he says realizing he has to speak formally to this important man.

 _"_ _Sort of?"_

"Well… About a week ago I was um… 'attacked' by a member of the Rosa Rossa family. One of its heirs named Cotton. But… she's only like… five years old and she said she didn't want to be with her family…" Primo nods approvingly again.

 _"_ _Okay. Was she taken out?"_ He asks and Kotsu shakes his head frantically. Even if they can't see each other it's as if they can feel each other's gestures.

"No. Not at all Primo-san. I befriended her and she lives with me. She really likes my mother's cooking and laying on Tsugemora. Anyway, that's WAY off topic. So just earlier today I met her three halfsiblings. Cane, Cocoa and the first heir to the family: Jute. They said they want Cotton to come home with them," Primo keeps nodding and tells someone off in the background.

 _"_ _Yes… what seems to be the issue then?"_

"Cotton doesn't want to go back and she's my friend! I don't want her to go back if she doesn't want to. S-she may have tried to kill me a couple of times but still! So… I kind of… suggested an alliance between the Rosa Rossa family and the Vongola family…" Primo suddenly laughs incredibly loudly much to his guards' surprise at the sudden outburst from their boss.

 _"_ _Hahahaha! I see now! I figured my first call from you would involve something of that nature! You are quite impulsive when it comes to your friends aren't you?"_ Kotsu nods, almost embarrassed that he put it so bluntly.

"Y-yes, sir… So I wanted to ask you if it would be possible to make this alliance?" Primo stops his laughing and Kotsu feels that he's really serious now, even without seeing him.

 _"_ _Kotsu. You realize that you are asking me to make an alliance with another very large mafia family, just so your five-year-old friend doesn't have to go back because she doesn't want to, despite orders saying that she must right?"_ He says and Kotsu sighs disappointed.

"Y-yeah. I understand. It's just… important to me that she's feeling safe. I'm sure you can understand that right Primo-san? But I guess it's a no then…" he says feeling a little down at the moment.

However much to the young boy's surprise Primo begins chuckling. _"You remind me a lot of me when I was your age. Go ahead! I give you the green light. If you believe it's for the best then I'll trust you. I will have it arranged on this side and I'm sure the other half is doing the same as we speak. GOKUDERA-KUN!"_ He yells to someone else and Kotsu hears the door open up.

"T-thank you so much Primo-san!" Kotsu says, beaming smile plastered on his face.

Primo chuckles one final time. _"You are the next boss. If it's important to you then it's important to me as well. But you're most welcome Kotsu,"_ He says and hangs up the phone and Kotsu lets out a sigh of relief and Reborn takes back his phone.

"I'm guessing he gave you the green light, by that look on your face?" Reborn asks and Kotsu nods.

"Yeah… he was… a lot kinder than I thought a mafia boss would be," Reborn suddenly transforms Leon into a bat and hits Kotsu over the head, but not as hard as he could… since that would kill Kotsu for sure. "Itee! Why'd you do that!?"

"Don't ever ask me to talk to Primo again. I'll let you speak with him if it's necessary," He says and walks back inside.

Kotsu sits down at the table again and Tsugemora jumps at him too excited to contain himself. "How'd it go Nii-san?!"

Kotsu smiles a little. "He agreed. He said if it was important to me then it's important to him too," Cotton jumps at them too, laying herself on Tsugemora's head.

"Mortal-kun! Cotton-heika will make you executive of your own branch when she takes over the world!" She yells with teary eyes clearly trying to be nice to him in her own way.

"I just… didn't want to see you sad Cotton,"

Cane slams his fist into the table again, furious. "Well, our father would NEVER agree to something like this! So don't get your hopes up!" He yells and Cocoa nods.

"Yeah… he tends to be incredibly strict about whom we ally ourselves with."

 **-NII-**

After a couple of minutes more of awkward silence, Jute finally enters the room.

"First off I would like to make this very clear! He was NOT happy about this proposal," Kotsu frowns along with Cotton.

"See I told you!" Cane says and Jute suddenly stomps on the floor.

"CANE! I said first off! I wasn't done!" Cane slowly sits down.

"Don't tell me…" The young boy says almost in disbelief and Jute nods.

"He agreed. I mentioned potential downsides, but due to the Vongola's sheer power he believed it would be the best course of action would be to form an alliance. It would also grant us access to information grids as well as potential favors from a much larger family. He really hated to admit it, but the vongola family IS more powerful than the Rosa Rossa family,"

Reborn grits his teeth. "Annoying…"

Jute sits down. "His condition was that we always have a spokesperson from family with the new boss at all times. He said we should choose wisely. Therefore…" Everyone awaits hesitatingly at his next words. "I would have liked to be the one to stay, however father has asked me to return. Therefore we'll leave Cotton as our spokesperson until the finer details of the alliance are in place. We have people who're much more suited for the job, but until it is official we can't send someone more suited here. Which I also made father aware of. Cotton will also be the official channel between the Rosa Rossa family and the Vongola family," Everyone cheers and Cocoa and Cane, just look a bit strangely at the whole thing.

"If it's what father wants then who are we to get in his way?" Cocoa says and Cane grits his teeth but just agrees anyway, not wanting to anger his father.

Jute claps his hands getting his siblings' attention. "Cocoa. Cane. We have no more business here," The two twins get up and the three of them go to put their shoes on. Masumi hands them a bento each which she's been making in the kitchen while the alliance was being made.

"Here you go you three. You're welcome to come back anytime," she says and Jute takes the boxes of food.

"Thank you miss Niruo," He says as they walk out the door with Masumi kindly waving them off.

 **-NII-**

They walk away down the street and Kotsu is quite impressed with them. They look incredibly powerful yet handled their problem with words only. As they walk away Kotsu notes a little red ball comes running and Cotton stops right before them and the three of them stop to look at their little sister. She's panting from running so hard all that way which isn't very far for them. She points to them with an angry pout.

"C-Cotton-heika will make you three executives when she takes over the world!" She yells as loud as she can with eyes closed and Jute kneels down in front of her extending his fist for a fist bump.

"You got it Cotton. We'll look forward to seeing you blossom," Cotton punches his fist as hard as she can.

"HiJAAAAA!" but when she hits, Cotton instantly jumps back and blows on her hand since it kind of hurt. "A mighty foe to overcome… but Cotton-heika will not give up!" She yells and Jute just smiles as he stands and walks away with his two other siblings. Cotton tears up a bit and her nose starts running. The three of them raise their hand.

"Good luck little rosebud!" Jute yells and Cotton sniffs up her snot and forces her tears back and Kotsu comes out and picks her up.

"So that's your family huh Cotton?"

Cotton nods slowly. "Cotton-heika misses her mama," Kotsu carries her back inside the house where everyone is waiting for them.

"That's understandable, but this will have to do until you can visit Italy alright?" Kotsu says with a smile and Cotton jumps off Kotsu's hands and into the air. Everyone holds out their arms to catch her except for Reborn. Obviously.

"Cotton-heika will make this her headquarters once she rules the world!" She yells happily laughing her signature 'evil' laugh.

 **-NII-**

While everyone is celebrating Cotton getting to stay, Reborn and Tsugemora are out the back of the house. Reborn leaned against the wall looking just a tiny bit worried for once. "Tsugemora. You saw that tattoo on the thugs didn't you?"

Tsugemora nods clearly tensing up. "No way I couldn't… but… is 'he' ACTUALLY coming here?"

However much to the bodyguard's dismay Reborn nods. "I had Murphy look into it. With his unluckiness he found them the hard way in no time at all. He got a glimpse of him. Keep your guard up from now on. Your cousin's coming to town," He says going back inside and Tsugemora gulps heavily. If there's one person in the entire world that he's afraid of… it's his cousin… Geraldino Gagliardi.


	10. Trouble arises

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 10: Trouble arises**

School's out again and everyone's walking home together. Kotsu, Ren and his friend Reishiro, Tsugemora, Fumie and... Cotton? Kotsu looks strangely at the little girl firmly planted on top of Tsugemora's head.

"Um… Tsugemora…? Why is Cotton here?" he asks and Tsugemora looks up.

"Oh! Miss Niruo-sama asked me to take care of her today! So she's been with me all day!"

"Ah! Sokaaa…" Reishiro says joining the conversation out of nowhere.

"Then… who're you?" He asks pointing at Kotsu.

"Um… I'm Ren's little brother, Kotsu…"

"Ah! Sokaaa… mini-Ren," he says and Kotsu is about to complain about the nickname but realizes that Reishiro probably won't change his viewpoint.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot you guys had a new little 'sister' in the house," Fumie says and Cotton pouts angrily at her.

"Cotton-heika is NOT little! She is an awesome strong girl!" She declares standing up, almost falling off Tsugemora's head.

"Careful up there. I have been tasked with keeping you safe from the all-mighty beautiful miss Nirou-sama," Tsugemora says and Cotton angrily sits down again.

"Cotton-heika will not be ordered around," She complains with a pout.

Ren stops seeing that Reishiro's also stopped to just… stare at a blank wall. "What's that marking Ren…?" He asks pointing to the blank space.

"there's nothing there Reishiro. Come on! Let's go," he says and Reishiro just hums a little before walking with them again.

"It looks like someone dragged something sharp over it…" He says, but the conversation has already ended so no one answers him. They come to the crossroad where Fumie has to split with them.

"Well um… I'll see you later Ren-senpai!" She says walking off and Kotsu would be offended that she didn't say farewell to him, but lets it slide knowing that she's probably not done anything but look at Ren for the entire walk.

Reishiro points after her. "Who was that?"

"That was Fumie-san. One of Kotsu's friends," Ren explains with a smile, always happy to answer the boy's questions.

"What about the person on her back?" He asks, and everyone blinks a little.

"You're hallucinating again Reishiro," Ren concludes, and everyone laughs.

"Ah! Sokaaa… it looked kinda like the person on that guy's head…" he says pointing to Tsugemora's head. But much to his shock Cotton is gone.

"Oh crap!" Tsugemora yells looking around for that little cheeky girl. His eyes go wide. "Reishiro wasn't hallucinating!" He says before sprinting back the way they came. "I'll be right back Nii-san! Fumie probably has her!" He says also leaving them. Kotsu just sighs. This is typical isn't it? Cotton getting angry and doing something she's not supposed to do. At least she didn't try murdering him this time…

 **-NII-**

After another few short minutes of walking they get to the Niruo residence and Reishiro tilts his head. "Hmm… this isn't my house…" he says and Kotsu almost falls over. Was he thinking they were going to his house?! That's a new level of weirdness.

"Nonono. This is OUR house," Ren says and Reishiro seems to realize.

"Ah! Sokaaa… then… where's my house?" He says looking around. Kotsu is still dumbfounded. He doesn't know the way to his own house. He's here to do homework with Ren quite often!

Luckily Ren can give him directions easily and he is soon on his way to his house. It's just the two brothers now. Just like it used to be. Reborn seems to be busy doing Reborn things. Kotsu goes to his room to change into his casual clothes. Finally… some peace and quiet. Well-deserved in his eyes. It's been quite a while since he could just… lay down and rela-

However every one of his thought are interrupted by a little red ball comes running through the door to Kotsu's room and runs towards him looking incredibly upset over something.

"Mortal-kun! Mortal-kun!" She yells and jumps into Kotsu's arms tears flying everywhere.

"C-Cotton!? What's the matter?" Cotton looks up at Kotsu, her little eyes watered up immensely.

"Mortal-kun… Tsugemortal has been hurt and Fumie-san has been kidnapped!" She blurts out through the wall of tears and sobs.

Kotsu's eyes go wide with terror and worry. "T-Tsugemora's hurt!? Where is he!? What happened?!" Kotsu yells and Cotton sniffs a little more to get rid of the snot in her nose.

"W-when Tsugemortal came to get Cotton-heika…"

 **-NII-**

 **Earlier:**

Cotton sees that Fumie is leaving them and for some reason jumps onto her back without anyone noticing somehow. 'Tiahahaaa… infiltration successful…' She thinks to herself as Fumie starts walking home. Behind them, someone drags a large spear against the wall where Reishiro had previously looked, leaving a long mark and whoever's carrying the spear smirks as he sees Tsugemora run around the corner in order to fetch Cotton.

Fumie notes that Cotton is on her back. "Cotton!? What're you doing here?! You're supposed to be with Kotsu-kun and Tsugemora-kun," She says and Cotton just laughs.

"Tiahahahaha! The great Cotton-heika decides her own destiny!" She yells and Fumie sends her a disappointed look just shaking her head making Cotton feel a bit guilty at her actions.

"Cotton… do as you're told! If I remember correctly Tsugemora-kun said that he was supposed to take care of you today,"

Tsugemora comes running behind them. "Fumie-san! Wait up!" He yells and Fumie stops walking and holds out Cotton by her onesie. Cotton just waves apologetically with a grin on her face.

"Let me guess… you're looking for this little troublemaker?" She asks with a sigh and Tsugemora nods.

"Thank you, Fumie-san," He reaches out for Cotton to take her off Fumie's hands. However he stops for a moment feeling a strange presence behind him.

He quickly takes out his wire and when he spins on his heel, he instantly extends the wire in front of him to block an incoming spear strike, but the strike instantly pierces straight through his specially designed fiber wire and stabs the young boy straight in the chest and he jumps backwards, thinking clearly as he's not blinded by the pain.

He's prepared to counterattack when he sees who's standing before him. At that moment his eyes go wide as he looks at the person standing in front of him. The first thing he sees is the symbol on the man's shirt. A black tattoo of a wolf made of icicles with cyan eyes. The mark he recognizes as the mark of the ice wolves: Geraldino's gang. The second thing he notes is the rest of the man's body. A large punk-looking man with long black hair set in a few large thick curvy spikes going forward, and pure red eyes. What is most curious about him is the copious amounts of spears he has. He has two holsters on the back, each holding four spears and he has an extra in his hand already, each spear looking slightly different from the others. The one he's holding has a little red gem imbedded at the base of a large drill-like spear-head.

"Hello little bodyguard. I would like to take that girl with me. Your cousin's orders," He says smirking at his new opponent. He gets in front of Fumie and Cotton shielding them and prepares a fighting stance. This causes the boy standing against him to laugh loudly.

"Sorry, but you can't do that. A wire like yours will never beat my spears," he says and Fumie can see Tsugemora visibly shaking making her quite worried.

"Shut up! I'll defeat you!" The boy laughs again.

"Come on. From what your cousin's told me, I know that I'm 10 years older than you and 100 times stronger! So be a good little boy and don't try anything" He says keeping that cocky smirk on his face. Tsugemora feels that he can't do anything against this man, as he walks closer dragging his spear casually against the pavement making a long drawn out creepy noise. He walks straight past Tsugemora who can't even get himself to move at first but when he extends his hand towards Fumie, Cotton jump at the spear-wielding man, with anger in her eyes.

"You don't dare harm Cotton-heika's underling!?" However the man just hits her aside before she even gets close and Cotton hits a nearby wall and falls over. Tsugemora tries hitting him as he grabs Fumie's arm, but as soon as Tsugemora moves he feels something hit him in the back. At first, he doesn't feel anything but suddenly falls over showing four needles in his back. A boy walks up and past him, up to Geraldino who holds his hand towards Fumie's mouth and she passes out suddenly. The boy is wearing a black hoodie with green sleeves and he has the ice wolves' symbol on the back of it. Tsugemora feels himself starting to pass out as he looks towards two boys walking away with Fumie. Some people have started to gather seeing Tsugemora lay there helpless on the ground and Cotton runs up to Tsugemora.

"Tsugemortal! The great Cotton-heika will avenge your noble sacrifice!" She yells and is about to run after the two ice wolves, but Tsugemora grabs her little leg.

"Go… get… Nii-san…" Cotton nods slowly and runs back the way they came as fast as her little body will carry her.

 **-NII-**

"A-and then Cotton-heika got back here to get Mortal-kun!" Cotton finishes and Kotsu is wide-eyed.

"Ice wolves?! Geraldino!? W-who on EARTH is that?!" Kotsu asks confused and scared. Kotsu puts down Cotton and runs out of the door. "Cotton! Keep the house safe! If that Geraldino guy comes here!" He yells and Cotton grits her teeth angrily jumping in place.

"Cotton-heika was already going to do that Mortal-kun!" He yells and as soon as Kotsu reaches the stairs none other than Reborn is standing and looking at him.

"Reborn! Fumie-"

"I heard," Reborn interrupts, walking past Kotsu and opens the door to Ren's room.

"Ren. You are coming with us to the hospital to visit Tsugemora," He says and Ren is quite surprised.

"Tsugemora's in the hospital? What happened!? I thought he was just going to get Cotton!?" He says also a bit worried.

 **-NII-**

Just as they're about to leave the house the door opens and Masumi comes home. "Oh my… where are you all going? Is it more of this exciting game you're playing?" Masumi asks and Reborn nods.

"It is. We'll be back by dinner. Make sure it's ready when we get back," He says confidently and Masumi giggles.

"Why of course Reborn-san," She answers happy and excited about this game as always, seeing her house duties almost as her 'role' she's playing. Cotton comes down the stairs and runs around checking literally everywhere for intruders as Masumi enters the house. Like Tsugemora's always doing.

"Those mortals will NOT get the drop on Cotton-heika!" She yells as the three of them leave.

"I've already called in some assistance," Reborn says as they walk to the hospital leaving the two boys to wonder whom he's called.


	11. The Ice Wolves

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 11: The ice wolves**

As soon as Kotsu opens the door to Tsugemora's room in the hospital the worry he previously had on his face disappears faster than candy put in front of Cotton, when she's moody. This is due to seeing a ton of doctors around Tsugemora trying to hold him down to give him some morphine to help the pain, but he isn't having it and is struggling immensely squirming to stop them.

"Get away from me! It doesn't hurt! I already told you! I can't feel pain! STOP!" He yells and keeps struggling.

"Tsugemora! Stop it!" Kotsu yells and Tsugemora recognizes his voice among all the loud doctors and instantly stops struggling. The doctors all look at him.

"And who might you be young man?"

"I'm his… friend," he explains pausing right before he's about to say boss, since that'd be weird in the normal world. Tsugemora gets the morphine injected on Kotsu's 'orders'. However, it doesn't seem to affect him at all. Reborn and Ren come into the room.

"Are you alright Tsugemora?" Kotsu asks and Tsugemora nods.

"They gave me some stitches and said I shouldn't make too many big movements before I recover completely. But… I couldn't stop those guys… a-and they took Fumie-san… I'm sorry…" He says tugging at the blanket in shame of failing the one thing he was hired to do. Protect. Kotsu just smiles trying to look reassuring, but it's quite hard for him as he's never had a friend in the hospital before.

"H-hey now… it's alright Tsugemora. Do you know where they went?" He nods slowly and takes out a piece of paper.

"When I woke up this was on my desk…" He says. It's a folded map of the city and there's a big x engraved on it with the text. 'We know she isn't neo vongola secondo. If you want to see her alive, bring the real one here.' Kotsu gets a bit angry reading literal ransom note.

"We have to go get her back!" he says and gets up to walk, but Reborn gets in his way.

"Reborn! Go away! I'm going to go get Fumie-san back!"

Reborn nods. "I know that. But not without them," He says looking behind him and Tsugemora gets out of bed already having healed that much.

"Let's go Nii-san!" He yells and Ren smiles.

"Sure. I'll tag along. This could be fun," He says, still clearly thinking there's no actual danger involved, but even so Kotsu can't help but smile.

"Thanks, Ren," they walk out and as they walk towards the place specified on the map they suddenly see someone walking towards them. The big sand-brown jacket instantly gives away that it's Murphy.

As he attempts his cool entrance he suddenly trips and falls over his own untied shoelace and faceplants. He gets up and laughs. "There goes my entrance I guess,"

Reborn sighs. "Sadly he's the only assistance I could get on short notice," with that… Murphy joins their little group with Kotsu sort of disappointed. The one time he wanted someone super strong and crazy to join them it's 'just' Murphy.

 **-NII-**

After a relatively short walk they reach a hole in a large brick wall with train tracks running through it.

"Is this really the place?" Kotsu asks and Tsugemora nods.

"Yeah… I know this city in and out and this is definitely the place on the map…"

The small group walk inside and come to an abandoned subway station. As soon as they enter Reborn looks to the side and makes everyone jump back avoiding a whole bunch of needles.

"Oh come on! You didn't even have two seconds to react!" the person yells standing off to the side and he walks out into the open for everyone to see. He's the boy who took out Tsugemora back when Geraldino showed himself.

"You!?" Tsugemora yells and the boy bows.

"Oh… you're already up I see. Then I guess we need an introduction. I'm Veleno," he says and smiles from under his hoodie. They can all see some brown hair and green eyes showing underneath the hood.

"Where's Fumie!?" Kotsu yells and Veleno points to a tunnel leading further back.

"Somewhere down there I suppose," He says and grins. Kotsu feels utterly powerless. 'This guy took out Tsugemora… I can't beat someone like that,' he thinks and Tsugemora stands forward.

"I want a rematch! I will make Nii-san proud!" He yells determined as ever and Veleno takes his hands out of his hoodie's pockets and is holding a bunch of thin poison-tipped needles in between his fingers.

"Sure thing. Maybe I can actually kill you this time around!" He says and Tsugemora takes out a wire since he always makes sure to carry a spare. Veleno suddenly throws all his needles towards the rest of them and Tsugemora is about to get in front to protect them when suddenly Reborn steps in front of easily deflects every single one of the large needles with his arms.

"H-how'd you do that?" Reborn smirks fixing his suit mostly to show off.

"This suit is world-proof. A gunshot wouldn't leave a mark," He says and Tsugemora lets out a sigh of relief.

"How dare you attack Nii-san and Reborn-san!?" He yells suddenly changing from relieved to angry and charges at Veleno who jumps back and tosses a couple of more needles. Tsugemora moves to the side dodging one and hitting the second with his wire. He gets in close and tries hitting Veleno with his wire using it as a whip, but misses as Veleno ducks under and stabs Tsugemora in the side with a needle. He then kicks Tsugemora back making him tumble a bit. Tsugemora gets up and pulls the needle out and suddenly feels a bit strange.

"Confused? Well, all of my needles are poisoned. I heard about you… you can't feel pain right? Well not feeling pain doesn't mean the poison won't disable your muscles," Tsugemora pants a little, but runs forward again.

Kotsu looks at Reborn to see if he plans on anything. "Can't you help him Reborn!? Then it'll be over in an instant!" But much to Kotsu's dismay Reborn just shakes his head.

"If Tsugemora can't beat an opponent of this level by himself then he has no place being your bodyguard," He says loudly making sure Tsugemora hears him. The young boy gets a bit angry from hearing this and runs forward again. Veleno smirks and tosses a ton of needles forward. There's no way Tsugemora could dodge them all. However, instead of dodging any of them he just puts his hands in front of his head getting hit by nearly all of them and before Veleno can even getting out of the way, having thought that Tsugemora would've dodged when he tosses them, Tsugemora swings his wire around Veleno's neck and tosses him over his shoulder and smashes him into the ground and hits him in the head hard knocking him out in an instant. Tsugemora takes a few steps back and Kotsu runs over to congratulate him on his win, when Tsugemora falls over from the poison completely disabling his muscles.

"A…am I worthy of being your bodyguard now?" He asks as Kotsu catches him and starts removing the needles from his arms and chest.

"You were awesome Tsugemora. Just… don't die…" he says and Ren comes over also helping with the needles.

"I can carry him if he can't move," He says and Ren takes him over his shoulder. They look towards the tunnel they're going to go to.

"I hope no one else has to get hurt," Kotsu says looking into the deep tunnels.

 **-NII-**

In a large opening that looks like an abandoned subway station somewhere within the tunnels Kotsu's group have just entered, Geraldino is standing around looking at a tied-up and really scared Fumie. She has a piece of cloth in her mouth to prevent her from speaking and potentially call out.

"So they're here and they already got Veleno? But… he took down Tsugemora so that's a definite plus. I hope at least one of them makes it here. Maybe even… Reborn-senpai…" He says sounding a bit excited at the mention of the hitman's name.


	12. Fangs of the wolf

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 12: Fangs of the wolf**

Kotsu, Ren, Murphy and Reborn walk through a large tunnel with Tsugemora slung over Ren's shoulder, not being able to move due to poison. They enter another large open underground area, this appearing to be the old entrance to the station. Inside they see two people sitting in a large sofa. Both playing a video game on an old tv they have set up. In fact this entire area appears to be a sort of living quarters for the gang.

"Hey! No fair! Stop screen cheating, Neve! You piece of crap!" The first says angrily. A young boy with short white hair and a single black stripe down the middle.

The other juts laughs at his friend. "You can't prove I'm screen cheating Cenere! Maybe you just suck at the game!" He says. His hair is the exact opposite of the first boy's, being black with a white stripe. The first boy tosses down the controller clearly angry at having lost.

"Bastard… I ought to kill you," Ren laughs a little being reminded of when he used to play videogames with Kotsu in the younger brother's room.

"Um… excuse me… do you know where we can find someone named… Geraldino I think his name was," He asks and the two boys shoot up, not recognizing the voice. Ren walks over calm as ever, still not knowing that they're members of an ACTUAL gang. They both jump back and look at Ren as he puts Tsugemora down in the couch where he's likely much more comfortable on it. "Is something wrong…?" Ren asks seeing them clearly keep their distance. Cenere and Neve look to each other, before looking furiously at Ren.

"You bastard! Who the hell do you think you are? Coming in here like you own the place! We'll kill you!" they both yell taking out weapons. Both of them hold a large kukri and point them to Ren who just takes a short step back.

"Hey now… I'm not really… playing this roleplay so um… it's those guys you'll want to 'attack'," He says laughing and the two boys look to Reborn and the others curiously noting that the entrance is blocked.

Kotsu is panicking seeing the large knives both the boys are holding and tucks at Reborn's sleeve. "Reborn! Oi! We need to help Ren! He's not actually going to fight those guys! He thinks it's just a game!" He says and Reborn pulls his sleeve back making Kotsu let go, with a slightly annoyed tsk.

"Ren'll be just fine… besides I wanna see what he's got," he says and the boys hear it smirking.

"You hear that Neve? They won't be bothering us while we take care of this chump!" Cenere says smirking and Neve nods.

"that's good for us! Makes our job easier!" He yells jumping forward and Ren doesn't move at all, not thinking they'll actually attack him. Neve notes Ren's lack of action and stops right before contact with Ren's neck with his kukri. "Hey! Why didn't you dodge or counter attack!?" He says and Ren just smiles.

"Because you guys won't actually hurt me, or you know… attempt to with toy swords," He says and sounds harmless as always, but the two boys just take it as an overconfident statement and gulp a bit creating a little distance between them and their opponent, wondering just how strong you have to be, to NOT dodge a direct attack like that. But before they get too scared of him, they both leap for him anyway.

"If we think too much-!" "We'll just get distracted!" They yell finishing each other's sentences and Ren sighs and holds up his hand as if to tell them to stop.

"Guys! Stop… I already told you I'm not playing this game, so it won't be any fun," He says and once more the boys take it the wrong way, thinking he's actually saying that fighting them is like a game to him and that beating them won't be any fun.

"Oi… this guy… what on earth is with him…?" Neve says looking rather worried.

Reborn sighs off to the side. "Looks like Ren's in the middle of a GIANT misconception huh?" Kotsu just looks overly confused at Reborn and then the two boys.

Ren sighs as well and just holds up his hands. "Alright alright… I see that you really want me to play… so I'll play along a little…" he says sighing, just remembering when he used to playfight with Kotsu when they were younger thinking that it's a bit like that.

The two boys are looking quite angry right now, seeing as they believe Ren's naivety to be overflowing confidence. "You bastard! Now we're mad!" Cenere yells as he leaps forward towards Ren slicing at him and Ren dodges for once, leaning really far backwards, placing a hand on the ground for support, before jumping onto it, with a slight spin of his legs, with his foot being quite far from Cenere's face and Ren jumps back chuckling whipping under his nose with his index finger with a smirk on his face.

"Got ya…" He says and Kotsu is in complete disbelief at this behavior. He actually thinks it's like a playfight where they PRETEND to get hit, when the other grazes by them.

"What…?" Cenere says aloud, before Ren suddenly jumps as Neve comes from behind with another slash and Ren avoids it.

"hey hey… how am I supposed to pretend to get hit if you attack from the back?" He says landing into a roll, instantly ready again and the two boys start furiously swinging at him in perfect sync, with Ren simply dodging them all pretending to get cut all over, making the correct over-the-top noises only annoying the boys even more as he's easily dodging them, while no even focused on it.

"The hell's wrong with you!? Can't you see we're trying to kill you?" Neve yells as they both stab directly at him and he jumps back and lands on his back.

"Arrrggh I'm… DEAD," He says laying on the ground, pretending to have died, and the two boys just look at each other in total disbelief at what they're seeing, never having felt so humiliated and underestimated before. They both jump and try stabbing Ren again and Ren opens one eye slightly, seeing them coming and he swiftly pushes the knives to the side making them hit the concrete on either side of his head. "Hey hey… that's a little close don't you think? Someone could hurt themselves," He says and stands up before yanking both kukri's out of their hands. "Gimme those!" He tosses them aside and looks very disappointed at the boys, almost like he's their older brother.

"Now you two calm yourselves. All this fighting and video games are making you more violent. That is NOT good for you. If you two don't stop this I will stop playing this game and teach you some lessons about violence," He says holding up his authoritative finger, very disappointed. Once more the two boys misunderstand thinking he means it as in, 'Stop fighting or I'll beat the crap out of you both,"' Instead of Ren just wanting to tell them about why violence is not always the answer. They both start sprinting out of the tunnel going straight for the exit.

"We promise! We won't ever hurt anyone again! Just… PLEASE STOP!" They yell and Ren just sighs shaking his head in relief.

"Good grief. Kids these days," He says and looks to his little brother who's honestly stunned that Ren somehow won a fight… without… actually… fighting. "I'm glad YOU aren't like those two lil' bro."

Reborn nods slowly. "Well done Ren… you handled that well…" Ren just grins his usual happy grin.

"Well it's just a game… how hard can it be?" he looks to Tsugemora who's still just sitting in the sofa sleeping soundly. "But I guess I broke the rules didn't I? I mean… am I really allowed to start playing just for one 'fight'?" Reborn just ignores the question and looks for the next place to go to.

"Looks like there aren't many places left to go… but… we have two paths…" He says pointing at two walkway, tunnels going either way from the entrance. One is labeled platform D and one is platform E of the old subway.

"Let's split up then. I never got to ask those two where Fumie is being kept so it makes the most sense right?" Ren suggests and Kotsu is against the idea, before Ren even finishes the sentence.

"That's crazy Ren! Who knows how many strong guys are hiding in here! There could be a LOT more, even stronger than those two!"

However much to the young Kotsu's dismay Reborn nods.

"That's a good idea. Murphy… take Ren and Tsugemora… me and Kotsu will go this way," Kotsu is almost in disbelief at what he's hearing. Splitting up seems like the craziest idea in the world to him. Strength in numbers right?! But it's happening. Reborn pulls Kotsu by the ear with him down platform E while Murphy guides Ren and Tsugemora to platform D.

"ReboooOoorn!" Kotsu complains and Reborn doesn't listen. As always, so Kotsu honestly isn't surprised… just annoyed.

"This'll be a test Kotsu. Of how strong you are," Kotsu just grits his teeth breaking free of Reborn's grasp of his ear, knowing that there's no running.

"But why do 'I' have to be tested? Can't YOU just take out Geraldino and his whole gang in one blow! The world's strongest hitman remember?!" He yells angrily as they continue down the dimly lit tunnel.

"I could, but if the next vongola boss can't save a single family member then how is he supposed to save the whole family?" Kotsu realizes the hitman has a point ignoring Reborn's slight bragging, or maybe he ignored it because he's got the feeling it's true that he could and just goes along with it.

"I… hm. Mm," He tries thinking of something to say, but can't figure anything clever to respond and decides to be quiet.


	13. Luckiest of the unlucky

**A/N: This chapter is quite ordinary in terms of the fighting choreography, but it's mostly to show that there're also people who aren't monstrously strong in the world. :P the next chapter has a much more impressive fight. That i can promise.**

 **Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 13: Luckiest of the unlucky**

Following Murphy, Ren and Tsugemora's journey towards platform D, Ren looks up at the ceiling seeing that it's quite unstable looking with little pieces falling off. Quite on the contrary to the tunnel Kotsu and Reborn took. Likely due to Murphy's unlucky curse. Of course, Ren is not aware of this fact, but it's the easiest explanation. They spot a side tunnel going off to the side in the larger one. It looks to have been carved out recently, rather than something that was in the subway when it was active. There's a large sign hanging from the ceiling saying 'The girl is in here. No need to check elsewhere!' Which is highly suspicious.

"A… sign?" Ren says tilting his head and Murphy looks down the highly unstable tunnel.

"Going down there looks like total suicide… so let's just ignore it," He says and they keep going, and as they're about to reach the next platform, someone is standing in the tunnel against the wall talking on the phone.

"And then I put up a sign saying that she was inside that unstable tunnel. It's a foolproof plan!" He says and laughs. He's an older man with a large black coat and belts all over, for… no reason Murphy can see at least. The man spots Murphy and the two young boys and hangs up. "Gotta call you back…" He says right after. There's a moment of complete silence between the four of them, three of them, if you don't count Tsugemora who's still recovering though his face is MUCH more colorful than the pale mess he was previously.

"How on earth did you see through my trick!?" He suddenly says and Murphy takes a step back.

"Um… what? You mean… that sign…?" The man nods.

"It was perfect and totally believable… right?" He's answered by a simple shake of the head from both Ren and Murphy leading him to fall to his knees. 'No way… these guys are GENIUS'… hmm…' He suddenly takes out a gun, from his west and points to them. "Well then I'll just shoot you to death I suppose," He simply says and Murphy pulls Ren and Tsugemora down as he barely manages to dodge the bullet, however it ricochets off the walls hitting a very VERY specific spot on the ceiling right above the three of them and it starts rumbling. Murphy pushes Ren and Tsugemora back, jumping forward himself as the ceiling collapses right between them.

The hitman lets out a sigh of relief. "Pew… safe…" he says and Ren looks through a tiny gap in the rumble.

"Mister Murphy! Are you alright in there!? That didn't seem staged!" He says for once thinking that Murphy could've ACTUALLY gotten hurt and Murphy stands dusting himself off, bleeding a bit from his forehead.

"Yeah… I'm alright… luckily," he chuckles a little at the sort of strange irony of that statement. "What about you two" He asks looking through the hole.

"We're fine… do you know how to get out of there?" Murphy thinks for a second before he hears the man from before shuffling around behind him and he turns around seeing the shooter from before pointing the gun at him. He's standing really close now, the gun pointed straight at Murphy's forehead.

"I'm warning you! No one gets past my traps like that. I can hit anything within a 100-meter radius with this gun! If my name isn't Salvatori!" He yells angrily at the accident hitman and Murphy has meanwhile managed to take off his gloves and he quickly before Salvatori can touch the trigger, touches his hand just after Salvatori fires, however, the gun jams, and Murphy quickly hits him backwards. "How on earth did he do that!?" He yells getting the gun unjammed in an instant, and Murphy just smirks a bit and takes his fighting stance again.

"They don't call me the Accident Hitman for nothing," He says and runs forward again, but trips like he always seems to do and slides along the floor. Salvatori looks strangely at him and then laughs at his pathetic attempt at attacking.

"You really are unlucky aren't you!?" He shoots at Murphy, but somehow misses the easiest shot of his life.

Murphy does a swing kick knocking Salvatori off his feet. Salvatori falls and once more his gun goes off shooting the bullet that was previously jammed, just grazing Murphy's cheek. Murphy grits his teeth as his contagious unluckiness is already wearing off. Salvatori starts trying to get shots off while still laying on the ground. Murphy tries getting closer and is grazed a little more before he's hit in the shoulder by a shot, however he grabs hold of Salvatori and pulls him up and then headbutts him, pushing him against the wall making him drop the gun.

Thanks to the headbutt his contagious unluckiness has been refreshed, and as such right as the gun lands it shoots the final shot in it and grazes Salvatori's leg. Murphy manages to force Salvatori to the opposite side of the rock wall where Ren is looking in, with a martial arts-like throw causing the gunman to roll to stabilize. Murphy grabs the gun with a roll of his own and aims at Salvatori's head, but once he shoots, he finds that the magazine is empty and quickly tosses it to the side. He instead runs at the unarmed Salvatori. However Salvatori grabs after something behind his back.

"Do you really think I only carry a single gun!?" He yells and pulls on another gun he had hidden, however it seems to get stuck and Murphy jumps him making them both fall. They struggle for a bit before Salvatori gets his second gun out and tries firing however his bad luck has been 'refreshed' from the struggle and both shots miss, Murphy who's laying on top currently and bounce off the ceiling and cracks start to appear in it.

Ren's eyes go wide seeing the exact same thing happen that happened at the start. "Mister Murphy! Watch out! The ceiling!"

Murphy looks up quickly. Realizing what's about to happen, he jumps back quickly and Salvatori gets on his feet. He points his gun at Murphy.

"For such a famous hitman, you sure aren't worth much in a normal fight," Murphy smirks and points up at the ceiling.

"I'll admit I was never that good at fighting, but I WILL admit that unluck is always on my side that's for sure," He says and the ceiling above Salvatori suddenly caves in and falls on top of him. Murphy turns his attention to Ren, and Tsugemora standing behind him in the hole in the rock wall.

"Sorry I can't go on. With my luck, if we try removing this wall either I will get crushed or you will. Go back the way we came. Find Reborn and Secondo. I'll figure out a way to get out of here," Ren nods and turns to walk the other way.

"We'll be back Murphy! Wait for us!" he yells as he heads back the only way he can and Murphy sits down, careful not to touch the rock wall out of fear of making it collapse and he looks up at the ceiling.

"I hope I can at least stay a bit lucky," he says looking at how it's a bit worn down and cracked and a drop of sweat rolls down his forehead. "Key word… hope,"

 **-NII-**

On the other end of the tunnel Kotsu and Reborn are walking, Reborn casual with his hands firmly tucked in his pockets, almost literally oozing confidence. Meanwhile Kotsu appears to be scared out of his mind, closed off staying as close to Reborn as he can without getting hit over the head, by the very same. He's frantically looking out for traps and enemies and the like.

"Show some confidence. You are the boss after all," Reborn states suddenly making Kotsu jump a little.

"Easy for you to say! You're super strong while I'm really weak!" The two of them reach the platform they were heading towards: Platform E. Kotsu slowly peeks around both corners to make sure that there're no- AAAAaaand Reborn's already inside. "Reborn!" Kotsu yells almost angry at the hitman for his lack of precaution for potential danger. However nothing seems to happen so Kotsu slowly joins him.

The room is quite large, with two tracks. At the other track is a chair with Fumie strapped to it, bag over her head and something in her mouth, clearly to prevent her from speaking. "Fumie!" Kotsu yells out and starts running towards her when Reborn holds out his hand making Kotsu stop. "R-reborn…?" A few seconds after the man from before with the many spears comes walking, now carrying another spear with a head that looks like a lightning bolt.

"so… it's you… Reborn-senpai. I'm afraid the last thing standing in the way of you two… and this girl… is me," He says pointing to himself and holds out his arms as if to welcome them. "So how about it? Shall we fight?"

Reborn seems to recognize the man's face. "I see… I heard that someone within Geraldino's gang was a man with many spears. They call you Yari correct?" The man bows and nods.

"the one and only. Pleased to meet you," Kotsu is standing behind Reborn cheering him on, silently when suddenly Reborn pushes Kotsu forward.

"Well… go get him," Kotsu looks frantically at Yari as he prepares his fighting stance.

"Wait… WHAAAAAAAAT!?"


	14. Kotsu's first fight vs Yari

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 14: Kotsu's first fight. Vs Yari**

Reborn has just pushed the frail and terrified Kotsu forward forcing him to fight a well-known man who is known for his many spears: the one they call Yari.

"R-R-Reborn… you can't be serious! T-there's just no way! He LOOKS a million times stronger than me. There's no way I can match him in ANY capacity!" Kotsu tries, pleading for his life. However Reborn isn't even looking at him.

"He's coming," The hitman simply says as Yari comes flying at him, with a spear and Kotsu falls backwards making the man jam his spear right in between Kotsu's legs.

"So… you're my opponent. Not quite what I was expecting," He pulls it back out as Reborn goes off to the side to simply watch while Kotsu's heart is sitting in my throat, pounding away like he just ran a marathon. Yari pulls the spear back out. "Well then… let's get this over with. If I win will you leave?" He asks Reborn, who simply nods as an answer. Yari smirks and stabs at Kotsu some more as the young boy just crawls backwards for his life nearly getting impaled with every strike. However Yari's picking his nose while stabbing so it's pretty clear he's not trying.

"Man… this is actually pretty boring. You're just a kid…" Kotsu is pushed against the wall and Yari raises the spear when suddenly Kotsu hears the echoing voice of his teacher.

"KOTSUKIBA! Don't you want to save Fumie!?" He yells and right after Kotsu hears a gunshot, which moments later hits him right between the eyes. 'I'm… dying… parting with the world forever… If only I could've defeated this guy… then I could've saved Fumie… she's innocent… she has nothing to do with this…' He thinks as he slumps to the floor against the wall and Yari just looks at Reborn wondering if he's right in the head. However his eyes quickly snap back to Kotsu, as the boy's clothes burst off leaving him in his boxers and he rises to his feet with gritted teeth, as a large purple flame erupts on his forehead.

"RE… BOOOOOORNNN!" He yells off the top of his lungs looking very angry, his eyes much narrower than normal. "I WILL DEFEAT YOU WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells and Yari takes a quick step back, before Kotsu takes a large step forward, to throw the first real punch of his life, taking Yari completely by surprise and Kotsu hits him straight in the stomach. Yari has the air punched out of him and is sent flying thanks to the dying will mode's removal of all Kotsu's physical limiters. Yari dropped his spear during the punch and so takes out the one with the red gem to stop himself with, by sticking it into the ground. Kotsu grabs the discarded spear and charges at Yari, not thinking of any potential dangers.

"Are you insane kid!?" He yells stabbing at Kotsu with the large drill-like spear and Kotsu uses his new spear like a bat, swinging it sideways to hit Yari's spear out of the way, using the momentum to spin around for a kick straight to Yari's side. However as soon as his spear is hit, Yari grabs another of his spears. This one green with two tips almost forming a diamond shape without touching. He uses the new spear to block Kotsu's kick. However as soon as Kotsu can't feel the strength on his kick anymore he stomps his raised foot down and headbutts at Yari, who once more blocks the strike with the drill spear's handle. He jumps back afterwards noting a dent in the long handle. "Yup… definitely insane," He says and suddenly swings both his spears upwards as Kotsu had tossed the spear he'd gotten from him and the motion blocked the flying spear sending it into the air. As Yari is concentrated on the flying spear Kotsu charges at him recklessly throwing a series of hard quick punches however Yari manages to block them all with relative ease using his two spears. The third spear comes falling down and Yari makes it land on his foot, in perfect balance and he swings it up again, switching it with one in his hand, stabbing down at Kotsu's relentless assault making Kotsu hit it instead and Yari can then stab at him with the spear he switched it for. A tricky maneuver which has clearly taken a lot of practice. However Kotsu's body has been hardened and the stab just bounces off him making Yari jump back with all three of his spears.

"You're pretty strong kid. But you can't beat me!" He says tossing the lightning spear into the air with his foot once more before kicking it with the same foot and it spins really fast like a wheel towards Kotsu. However the young boy just runs straight into it, with no consideration for anything and luckily it's the blunt end of the spear that slams him over the head, so he's unharmed, as Reborn is certain the other end would've sliced his head clean open. Kotsu grabs the spear angrily glaring at it. Yari looks curious for his next move. "ANNOYING!" Kotsu yells before slamming the spear down over his knee bending the metal into an almost 45 degree angle.

"What did you do to my beautiful spear!?" Yari yells angrily, but Kotsu doesn't listen and just keeps repeating the same progress until the spear breaks in two due to the heat from being bent making it softer. Kotsu tosses the two pieces aside before charging forward screaming angrily again. "ANNOYANCE ELIMINATED!" He yells and Yari grits his teeth.

"That was MINE! No one touches my spears!" He yells taking out two more, now having four in total. He holds both under his arms and he starts spinning really quickly. "FOUR SPEARS: VIOLENT TWISTER!" He declares and as Kotsu gets close he feels himself get a slight cut on the cheek and as such jumps back. But he instantly charges again, when Yari starts moving towards him swinging the spears around himself with the spinning move. Kotsu jumps to get over the spear assault as it only seems to be around him and not over him. Kotsu punches down at him, but Yari stops spinning suddenly, jabbing upwards, using all the spinning momentum to further his speed. Kotsu twists his body, barely dodging the stab and he grabs the spear pulling it down they're both holding onto it. Kotsu pulls on it and headbutts Yari at the same time making him stumble backwards a little letting go of the second spear. Kotsu snaps it in two as the handle on this one is made of wood and he starts attacking with the two halves, just mindlessly swinging them at Yari. Even for an experienced gangster, Kotsu's seemingly infinite stamina, durable body and incredible strength is almost too much to handle.

As the fight goes on Reborn takes off his hat, looking inside he has Leon safely tucked away, still a glowing ball. Reborn looks at him for a few seconds, as the glow has intensified quite a lot. "Soon…" He says taking Leon out and sticking him to his hat having him hang down on the side like a cocoon on a leaf.

Yari jumps back after Kotsu overwhelms him with his strength. "You little… How can a kid like you be so strong?" He asks himself and as Kotsu attacks Yari tosses four of his spears into the air, holding just the two that're left. As Kotsu attacks again, Yari starts almost juggling his spears striking once with each, before tossing it into the air, in perfect rhythm and Kotsu can't get close to him, like this. Too many spears everywhere. He's pushed back and the flame on his forehead starts slowly fading. Kotsu grits his teeth and jumps into the air, grabbing all four of Yari's spears out of the air. "HERE'S 'MY' SPECIAL MOVE!" He yells as Yari grits his teeth. No one's ever done such a thing to him before such as grabbing four violently spinning spears out of the air at once before. He holds the two spears in his hands together. "TWO SPEARS: THUNDER JAB!" Kotsu holds all four spears in a giant bundle. "QUADRUPLE SPEAR BAT…!" He yells slamming all four spears down like a bat crashing them against Yari's attack. The older boy is overpowered by the sheer strength of four spears against his own two and all of the six remaining spears are flung to the side and Kotsu comes down with a winded back fist.

"Wait… I can't lose like this! He's just in his boxers!" Yari declares almost mad at that fact. "…HOMERUN!" Kotsu finishes the attack name from before punching Yari straight in the head sending him flying straight into the ground at his own feet cracking the concrete under him.

Kotsu lands right next to him and screams off the top of his lungs. "VICTORYYYYYYYY!" He starts before the flame disappears completely and Kotsu looks at his dirty hands looking at the unconscious Yari at his feet. "What… happened…?" He says to himself mostly, but his 'Oh so helpful' tutor gets up walking past Yari.

"You defeated a fierce opponent. Congratulations Kotsu," He says and Kotsu now notes the state of his clothes. The lack there of at least.

"M-My clothes!? Did I fight that guy like THIS!?" Upon seeing Reborn's nod he blushes furiously. "But wasn't it supposed to be cool or something!?" He says to himself and Reborn just shrugs before tossing some clothes at him.

"I brought some extra. Get dressed," Kotsu puts on the dark-blue t-shirt and long green jeans, which actually seems to go rather well together.

The two of them go to the chair with Fumie in it and Kotsu is almost crying, but holds it in. "We came to get you… Fumie-san… are you alright?" He says taking off the bag, but it's not Fumie… it's a doll with one of their school uniforms on, to make them think it was her.

Reborn nods slowly. "I figured as much. Then the real question becomes where Fumie actually is," Just as he finishes his sentence Ren comes with Tsugemora no longer over his arm, but running beside him.

"Reborn-san… Murphy-san is stuck in one of the tunnels… He needs help," the younger boy says with concern and Reborn.

"Very well… Kotsu. You take Tsugemora and Ren and head for the main platform. Platform A. If I know a bit about Geraldino that is where he'll be at. And where he is your friend is likely to be located there too," He says before going past Ren and Tsugemora. Right before he goes in the tunnel he turns and tosses something. "Kotsu… take this with you," Kotsu frantically catches one of the blue pills he always swallows to turn into that insane dying will mode. Before Kotsu can thank him he's already gone.

Tsugemora sees Yari on the floor. "Nii-san!? You defeated him?! That's so cool!" He says with sparkling eyes and Kotsu laughs a bit nervously not actually remembering much of the fight, only little glimpses here and there.

"Y-yeah… I guess I did…" He says and Ren looks at the tunnel going in the other direction. It has a sign saying platform A on it.

"I guess we're going that way correct?" he says still thinking of this at a game and as such is not mad that Kotsu knocked out Yari thinking the latter is just pretending.

 **-NII-**

Kotsu, Ren, and Tsugemora continue making their way through the tunnel and after not so long their reach a very large opening. It's a much larger platform than the others with multiple tracks running through it.

On the opposite side of the track they spot person standing with Fumie in a chair next to him. Without a bag this time so there's no mistaking that it's actually her this time. The boy is much older than all of them with short black hair that just lays messily down his head, only just short enough to not get in his eyes. He's wearing a sleeveless black west that's open with a tight-fitting white tank-top underneath showing his abs quite clearly. And he's ripped. He also has a lip-ring in his lower lip and two piercings in his left eyebrow. As well as a tattoo on his strong-looking arm of the ice wolves gang sign, but much cooler-looking. It's clear this tattoo was what made the inspiration for the logo. The wolf's cyan eyes also seem to mimic Geraldino's own eyes as they're the same piercing shade of cyan. On his back, he has a sheathe for a katana, which he is currently holding. Tsugemora freezes completely as the boy smirks at him with a cold icy gaze only enhanced by his cyan eyes.

"Hello there Tsugemora… long time no see," He says but looking over the group he almost looks… disappointed. "Dammit… Reborn-senpai isn't with them…" He whispers to himself and Fumie starts crying happy tears when she sees Kotsu, Ren, and Tsugemora.

"L-Let me at him Nii-san… I will defeat him… for you," he says sounding quite scared of the older boy, as he slowly takes out his wire, but Kotsu quickly grabs hold of him and gently guides him to sit down.

"Nonononono Tsugemora… you stay right here. You've been poisoned by lord knows how much… you can't fight," He argues and Tsugemora tries still getting up again.

"But Nii-san… if I can't be your shield then what good am I as a bodyguard?" He asks and Kotsu claps him on the head a bit hard, though Tsugemora can't really feel it.

"You are not my bodyguard Tsugemora. You're my friend. Now just… stay here with Ren. I will try to get Fumie back…" He says standing back up and he looks towards Geraldino who smirks at him confidence oozing off his strong body.

"What's that determined look for? You think you stand a chance against me? I saw you when Yari attacked you. You only won because of Reborn-senpai," He whispers the last part and Kotsu swears he hears some kind of admiration for the hitman in Geraldino's voice. "You were so terrified before he helped! You could barely even move!" He says and laughs loudly. Kotsu grits his teeth.

"I don't want to hurt people if I can avoid it! That's what Ren taught me!" He says and Ren smiles still sitting and taking care of Tsugemora, happy to hear that his 'teachings' are being followed. Kotsu holds out the blue pill Reborn gave him between his index and middle finger. "But this time is different! You kidnapped my friend and made her scared for her life and made her worry about me and everyone else! That's unacceptable!" He swallows the pill and right as he does a train drives by at incredible speed making Geraldino lose sight of him.

As the train disappears from sight Geraldino sees Kotsu jumping at him with an angry look on his face and the purple flame on his forehead, however, his clothes are still intact somehow. He winds his fist back for a hard punch and Geraldino blocks it with his sword.

"I WILL DEFEAT YOU AND RESCUE FUMIE WITH MY DYING WILL!" Kotsu yells off the top of his lungs.


	15. The Ice Wolf himself

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 15: The ice wolf himself**

Kotsu swallows the blue pill he got from Reborn and right as he does a train drives by at incredible speed making Geraldino lose sight of him. As the train disappears from sight Geraldino sees Kotsu jumping at him with an angry look on his face and the purple flame on his forehead, however, his clothes are still intact somehow, even though he entered dying will mode. He winds his fist back for a hard punch and Geraldino blocks it with his sword.

"I WILL DEFEAT YOU AND RESCUE FUMIE WITH MY DYING WILL!" Kotsu yells off the top of his lungs.

Ren blinks a little and seems very surprised by Kotsu's sudden shift in attitude.

"W-what's going on with him? He was so afraid just a second ago…" He says and Tsugemora chuckles.

"You're a real idiot Ren. Nii-san is just that awesome…" He says and coughs a bit.

"I guess that's part of his character huh…" Ren says and Kotsu pushes his attack through Geraldino's block and the older swordsman slides back just a little bit before pushing back and sending Kotsu away making him land on the rails. However right as he lands Kotsu jumps forward again and Geraldino does the same striking at Kotsu with his sword. Kotsu puts up his left arm to block and tries hitting back with his right, but Geraldino's powerful strike sends him flying to the side before he can get a chance to do so. He tumbles a bit but is quickly on his feet and Geraldino looks at his sword.

"It looks like I'm not striking you hard enough! That dying will mode sure knows how to make your clothes and body TOUGH! I like it!" He yells and Ren gets a slight chill. 'That guy's a little… too much into character…' He thinks as Geraldino jumps forward and he exchanges a few strikes with Kotsu before the two end in a stalemate with Kotsu having both his hands crossed and Geraldino's sword stuck right in the middle. The two look each other straight in the eyes with Geraldino having a rather cocky, calm and confident look compared to Kotsu's angry and determined glare. Kotsu pushes with all his might and manages to take a single step forward and force Geraldino back slightly.

"You little…" He says under his breath and pushes harder, but Kotsu isn't giving in and manages to break Geraldino's attack and land a solid punch right in his stomach sending him flying backwards. Midair, he does a backflip and lands in kneeling position with his sword stabbed in the ground grabbing his stomach from the pain. "This kid… don't tell me…" He says and looks at Kotsu coming right at him. He pulls his sword out of the ground and blocks Kotsu's quick consecutive attacks with a counter strike, Kotsu's fist not getting damaged due to the added toughness of his dying will mode. Geraldino's pushed back again.

"You…? YOU'RE NEO VONGOLA SECONDO AREN'T YOU?! ANSWER ME!" He yells and Kotsu clenches his.

"I AM! AND I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" He yells and Geraldino dodges another attack and jumps back onto the station platform. He takes out a ring with a large blue gem imbedded in it.

"Here I didn't want my tricks to be revealed until I battled him… but if you really ARE him then I have no reason not to!" He yells and Ren looks at the strange ring.

"Do you know what that is Tsugemora?" Tsugemora nods slowly.

"There's a reason why his underlings are named the ice wolves… and it's not because they all have ice-themed powers… but in the mafia world… Geraldino is known simply as 'ice wolf' Geraldino," He says coughing a bit more, but still manages to sit up. The ring on Geraldino's finger suddenly erupts in an incredibly deep blue fire that shimmers slightly making it look a little bit like the reflection of the sun in water. The inner core is deep blue while the further out it goes the lighter it becomes almost looking white on the outermost layer. He takes his sword in the hand with the now booming blue flame. He holds his sword in front of himself pointing it upwards. "FROST BITE!" He yells and the entire sword suddenly becomes covered in the blue flame, but almost as soon as it appears it all turns to ice making his sword a bit longer and gives it extra spikes of ice on the sides. His hand also gets covered by it making the sword stick to his hand completely.

"Here I come Neo Vongola Secondo!" He yells and attacks Kotsu once more with his new sword and this time when Kotsu tries blocking it appears to work for a little bit, but the ice from Geraldino's sword spreads to Kotsu's hands and he pulls back fast and jumps backwards. He looks at his ice-covered hands and slams them against each other breaking the ice and attacks again. Geraldino flings the sword behind himself. "ICE FANG!" The ice changes shape making it smoother and longer sort of like an extension of the sword. As Kotsu approaches Geraldino swings at him with the new long blade horizontally and Kotsu, instead of trying to block it, does an uppercut hitting the sword right as it's about to hit him and the ice breaks.

"You can't beat someone like me with that pitiful amount of power!" Geraldino yells and the ice remakes itself with the blue flames that turn to ice.

"I ALREADY SAID I'LL DEFEAT YOU!" Kotsu yells and attacks again. Geraldino blocks all of Kotsu's strikes with ease with his new ice sword. Kotsu's hands once more get slightly frosted over. As one of his punches connect his hand gets stuck to Geraldino's sword and Kotsu uses the stuck hand as a leaping board to go in for a strong kick, but Geraldino blocks the kick with his free arm easily.

"You didn't think that my sword is all that I have did you!?" Kotsu pulls his hand free from the ice and jumps back again, however, he attacks again instantly.

As the two keep fighting Tsugemora is somehow feeling much better already. "Nii-san! You can do it!" He yells though he's pretty sure Kotsu can't hear him at all.

Ren smiles kindly. "You got this lil' bro!" He yells for once cheering for his little brother seeing how much he's into this 'game'.

Reborn and Murphy come walking into the station. Leon is still hanging from Reborn's hat by his tail, still in the glowing ball form like a cocoon of a butterfly. His glow's gotten even more intense.

"Mister Reborn!? How did you make it past the rock walls?" Ren asks looking very confused and

Reborn holds out a vial with a clear liquid in it. "Destroyed it," He says nonchalantly before tossing the vial to Tsugemora. "Drink this. It's an antidote for the poison Veleno used," He says and Tsugemora shakes his head.

"Don't need it… I'm all better Reborn-san!" He says and smiles leading Reborn to raise an eyebrow. Wondering how in the world he managed to heal so quickly. The hitman briefly glances at Ren before looking to the fight.

"Is Neo Secondo in trouble?" Murphy asks and Ren shrugs.

"Looks like Geraldino is giving him quite a fight," he says, not really understanding who the winner's going to be as of right now.

"How long have they been fighting like that?" He asks and Tsugemora and Ren look at each other.

"Like… 4 minutes maybe?" Tsugemora finally says and Reborn grits his teeth a little. '4 minutes… that's about his limit right now… that's how long it took to beat Yari…' he thinks to himself and looks at Kotsu's flame on his forehead. How it flickers unstably like it normally does, but it's doing it less frequently than before. He then looks at Leon and pokes him a little.

"Come on boy. Hurry it up. He's losing out there," He says lowly and Leon shakes a little and his face gets a bit more painful-looking.

Geraldino also notes the fading flame on Kotsu's forehead and smirks. "Looks like your time is almost up!" He yells laughing loudly and does a downwards swing and Kotsu blocks it, but he's clearly weaker than before and is pushed back. Geraldino holds out his sword again. "COLD CLAW!" His sword changes shape once more into what appears to be three long bended spikes with the middle one being his real sword. They aren't too far apart making it looks like claws.

He attacks again swinging the claws at Kotsu and Kotsu is sliced over his face and he just manages to move his head and gets a cut over his cheek from all three ice spikes. He falls back and blacks out as the flame disappears. Geraldino holds up his sword and the ice disappears from it.

Kotsu slowly wakes up and looks at Geraldino holding the sword right above his head knowing that Geraldino is about to kill him. "You were a pretty strong opponent, but I've fought hundreds of battles while I take it you have only fought one REAL fights! The outcome is CLEAR!" He stabs downwards, but right before the sword hits Kotsu, who shields himself with his hand, it gets shot so it just misses. Geraldino looks in the direction of the shot and sees Reborn holding up his gun that's smoking a little and he tips his hat with it. Geraldino blushes a bit. "R-Reborn-senpai…" He thinks and quickly tries shaking it off.

"You might want to pay attention Geraldino-kun," Reborn says and when Geraldino looks, Kotsu has crawled away scared out of his mind. Geraldino grits his teeth and jumps into the air going straight for Kotsu.

"Get back here Neo Secondo!" Kotsu rolls to the side just avoiding the downwards thrust and also manages to jump out of the way of Geraldino's next attack. Only just barely though.

"I-I can't fight like this! I'll die!" Geraldino tries another attack and Kotsu can't dodge in time however right as the attack is about to hit Geraldino's arm stops moving and as he looks he sees Tsugemora standing with his wire around Geraldino's arm and he's pulling with all his might.

"I won't… let you… hurt… Nii-san!" He yells and pulls even harder and Geraldino jumps back getting himself free from Tsugemora's wire.

"T-Tsugemora! You shouldn't be fighting! Not after just recovering from that poison!" Kotsu yells and Tsugemora smiles back at him.

"Your thoughtfulness is wasted on someone like me Nii-san," He pulls on both ends of his wire and looks at Geraldino who smirks.

"You already know you can't possibly defeat me Tsugemora! You couldn't beat Yari and I can easily beat that guy! Need I remind you that fight ended with you in the hospital!" He yells and jumps towards Tsugemora slicing down at him and Tsugemora is about to hold out his wire to block but remembers what happened last time he tried blocking something sharp with it and instead jumps back just barely evading instead and Geraldino instantly slices up. Tsugemora dodges again and looks for an opening.

Kotsu slowly backs off crawling but stops halfway. 'T-Tsugemora can't beat him… I know he'll try, but he'll die before admitting defeat… just to protect me!' He thinks worryingly and Tsugemora avoids another attack from Geraldino's sword and right after the sword hits the ground Tsugemora steps on it and jumps giving Geraldino a kick in his side with all his strength, but it doesn't even seem to faze him at all. He instead smirks at Tsugemora and pulls his sword upwards again and Tsugemora is sent into the air slightly and Geraldino punches him now that he's vulnerable. He jumps at Tsugemora who can't get up in time and he holds out his wire to protect himself, but it's sliced clean in half however Geraldino's strike loses most of its strength.

Right as he pulls it back Leon suddenly shines incredibly brightly making him stop his attack to look at what's happening over by Reborn. The lizard closes his eyes and appears to struggle for a little and Reborn holds out his hand to catch whatever comes out. He catches whatever it was and looks at it. Leon falls from his hanging spot and Reborn catches him as well. He looks incredibly exhausted.

"You did well Leon. KOTSU! Catch!" He tosses two hand sized objects at Kotsu and Geraldino jumps in to try and intercept it, but Kotsu gets hold of them before him and Geraldino tries slicing at him, but Kotsu jumps back before that happens. He looks at what he caught. One is a simple-looking fork while the other is a ring made from some kind of purple metal with an even deeper purple gem. 'A fork and a ring!? A… fork and ring?! What am I supposed to do with a fork and ring!?' He thinks and Reborn takes out a bullet from his pocket and loads his gun with it.

"I know what you're thinking, but you'll know RIGHT NOW KOTSU! CRITICISM SHOT!" He yells and fires the bullet at Kotsu and Geraldino slices at Kotsu at the same time with his ice-covered sword. A giant cloud of smoke appears right as both Geraldino's sword and Reborn's bullet hit Kotsu.


	16. Intuition vs brute strength

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 16: Intuition vs brute strength**

Kotsu catches the fork Reborn tossed at him and after he's done looking at it he looks up seeing the red light coming towards his forehead. Geraldino strikes down at him and a cloud of smoke appears right as both Geraldino's sword and Reborn's bullet hits Kotsu. There's a pause where even Geraldino has no idea if he hit Kotsu.

After a couple of seconds, everyone gets a strange sensation. Suddenly a very large purple flame shoots up from right in front of Geraldino. This causes him to jump back. The flame gets smaller as the smoke clears revealing Kotsu standing with a much calmer look in his eyes than before, the purple unstable flame on his forehead. His eyes have turned the same shade of purple as the flame on his forehead. Legs split lightly and his side turned slightly and he's holding the fork in his hand, the arm hanging down lifelessly in front of him. On the same hand, he has the purple ring. However, the fork has changed from the normal-looking fork into a fork with four tips that curves slightly inwards at the handle and has ornate carvings all the way down it. The carvings look a little like vines wrapping themselves around the fork handle. At the very end is a strange three-leafed clover carving with a purple gem in the middle of each leaf.

"What in the world!?" Geraldino asks looking at Kotsu.

Kotsu looks at the fork in his hand. "This isn't what it looked like before… that means it's different somehow," he says to himself and points the tips of the fork at Geraldino. "I already said that I would defeat you, but I did not have the means to a second ago,"

Geraldino tsks and holds out his sword in the same way as Kotsu holds his fork.

"And you DO now!? That fork!? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" He yells and jumps forward. He slashes at Kotsu with his sword, and Kotsu moves slightly to the side and attempts to stab Geraldino with the fork, but the older boy spins on his foot and kicks at Kotsu, who instead of attacking puts up his arms to block and slides backwards. He stops himself and looks across the room.

"I know Reborn… and no matter how strict he is… he'd never give me something useless. That's the kind of teacher he is," He notes Geraldino's hand seeing the ring he's wearing with the blue gem. He looks at his own purple ring noting that they look a lot similar. Kotsu thinks, but in the split second of inattentiveness Geraldino attacks him again and he holds out the fork to block and it isn't cut straight in two and Kotsu manages to block the strike, but the ice quickly spreads to the fork and covers both Kotsu's fork and his hands and Geraldino kicks him back once again and breaks the ice that connects his sword to Kotsu's fork. Kotsu looks at his ice-covered hands that are now stuck to his hands.

Kotsu hums slightly and closes his eyes. 'A ring that sets on fire. His has a blue gem and mine is purple,' His eyes shoot open and slams his forehead into his ice-covered hand. While the ice doesn't seem to melt something else does seem to be happening.

Geraldino grits his teeth and jumps at Kotsu. "I don't know what you're doing! But it won't be enough to beat me!" He yells and slices at Kotsu. Kotsu holds up his ice-covered hands. "FROST BITE!" Geraldino yells and his sword changes to the ice spiked shape and he swings it at Kotsu and right before the attack connects the ice on Kotsu's fork shatters as the fork seems to grow immensely and it stabs Geraldino right across the shoulder in four different places. The older boy grits his teeth and Kotsu pulls out his fork. His entire hand where his ring is is covered in the purple flame and it suddenly extinguishes and Kotsu takes a low stance with one hand on the ground for support and his now giant fork swung over his shoulder with the spikes pointing behind him.

"I see… expansion… this purple flame has a special property. Much like your flame seems to be able to create ice," Kotsu comments upon his new discovery. Reborn looks genuinely impressed that he figured out his own flame's trait without any instructions at all. Geraldino grits his teeth and holds the ring out in front of his wounds. They start slowly getting incased in ice, which stops the bleeding.

"What the hell is with that fork!? No normal fork should be that easy to increase in size!" Geraldino yells and Kotsu leaps forward swinging the giant fork at Geraldino who's forced to block with his sword and as soon as the ice begins spreading to the fork it appears to get unstable and visibly breaks apart.

"This fork is the means I was talking about. As far as I can see it was created by Leon. That makes it different from normal metal," He says calmly and he moves his ring into the flame on his forehead once more and it flames up like before and the flame flows from his hand into the fork and collects at the middle two tips of the fork and those two extend further and grazes Geraldino's cheek, but he just manages to move his head to avoid getting stabbed straight through the head with the fork spikes. He grits his teeth and jumps back again.

"I hope you don't think you can beat me just because you have a weapon too now! I'm much stronger than you could ever hope to be!" He grabs a firm hold of his sword with both hands and jumps forward slicing at Kotsu who blocks the strike by getting Geraldino's sword stuck in between the two extended blades of the fork breaking the ice around it like two icepicks revealing the real sword underneath. Geraldino pushes with all his might and Kotsu is pushed back quite easily, yet he remains with his fork on Geraldino's sword. Kotsu activates his ring again and the end of the fork gets longer and stabs into the ground at an angle making it much more difficult for Geraldino to push Kotsu and he's forced to pull back and as soon as he does Kotsu jumps forward making Geraldino's sword remain between Kotsu's fork blades. Geraldino grits his teeth as his sword is pinned to the ground by Kotsu's fork. Kotsu switches hands on the fork and lights his ring on fire on his free hand now and he uses it to boost and kicks Geraldino all in a single instant making Tsugemora's jaw drop from how cool it looks. He watches Geraldino slide back before stopping himself. The ice wolf takes out another ring with a blue gem on it and puts it on another of his fingers.

"I hope you don't think you've WON!" He holds out his fist with the rings on it. "ARCTIC SHARDS!" He shoots large icicles after Kotsu who takes his fork out of the ground and swings it around like a bow staff blocking every single shot. He ends the swings by getting it into a spear-throwing position fluidly and tosses it at Geraldino, who quickly takes his hand in his pocket taking out a third ring with a blue gem and quickly puts it on another finger next to the two he already has. He then slams his hand into the ground and a giant wall of ice appears in front of him and the fork gets stuck in it. He smirks knowing there's no way Kotsu's strong enough to pull his fork out.

Kotsu runs towards the wall of ice and kicks his fork really hard on the end making it go further into the wall and it cracks as if the fork was an icepick. The ice cracks and then breaks as Kotsu grabs hold of his fork again jumping through to stab Geraldino instantly, however right as he gets through he finds that Geraldino isn't there. 'Left? Right? No… definitely…' he thinks quickly and looks behind him to see the older boy with his sword again. He picks up his giant fork again and flings it over his shoulder. Reborn looks at the large weapon and grits his teeth earning the attention of Murphy.

"What's the matter Reborn?" He asks and Reborn crosses his arms.

"It's that weapon. The cloud flames ability is propagation. He can make it bigger and more elaborate until the end of time and that ring Leon gave him seems to be the only way that can happen. But making it bigger and bigger has its own issues. He has no way of turning it back to how it was before. So every single expansion to it is permanent until he finds a way to turn it back to normal," he comments and Murphy frowns a bit.

"I see what you mean, but on the other hand… every expansion to it he makes, is to counter something Geraldino can do. So in a sense the longer this fight goes on the better his weapon will become at fighting Geraldino specifically," he adds on.

Kotsu jumps forward again swinging the fork down at Geraldino who blocks it and before he even has a chance to coat the fork in ice he's pushed back. He stops and then starts laughing.

"You really think you've got this in the bag don't you!?" He yells sinisterly and Tsugemora gets a chill down his spine. 'No… don't tell me he's perfected it!' He thinks and Geraldino laughs upon seeing Tsugemora's expression. He looks back at Kotsu.

"What else do you have? I've been able to counter every single one of your swords. If you give up right now and free Fumie I won't attack you again," Kotsu says pointing the end of the giant fork at him.

"Just look at Tsugemora! Do you still think you've won!?" He yells and Kotsu sees Tsugemora's worried expression. He smiles at him gently, which almost seems like a cocky smile in his current state.

"Don't worry Tsugemora. I'll beat him. I won't let Fumie stay here," He says and grabs the fork with both his hands holding it like a battle-axe.

Geraldino gets angry again. "You think you're so tough, don't you!? I'll show you what I've been training!" He takes out another two rings from his pocket and fills his entire hand with them. He then grabs hold of his other arm with his ringed hand. They all burst into the deep blue flames and his arm slowly gets covered in ice. But unlike normal, this ice appears to be the same blue as his flame and not light blue like normal. The gems on the rings also seem to crack as he does this.

"What's with that ice Mister Reborn?" Ren asks noting how different it appears to look now.

Reborn hums a little worryingly. "hmmm… there're a lot of things that are said in the mafia world about 'the ice wolf' Geraldino. One of them is that he's incredibly strong for his age. He's only 22, but in terms of pure physical strength, he's one of the best. The other thing is about his flame. Normally to get a flame to be incredibly pure you need to train for almost your entire life. But Geraldino's rain flame is said to be the purest rain flame to have every been documented. Normal rain flames can't form ice, but if you get them sufficiently pure you can create ice with them as well, but Geraldino's rain flame is so pure that he can create…" Geraldino's entire arm is now covered in the ice with his joints being uncovered and they form a giant clawed hand at the end of his arm and his sword is also covered in the deep blue ice. The ice suddenly burst into blue flames and the rings break. "BURNING ICE!" He yells and Kotsu grits his teeth and prepares himself.


	17. Geraldino's wrath

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 17: Geraldino's wrath**

Geraldino has just activated his 'burning ice' and is standing in front of Kotsu holding out his flaming deep-blue ice-covered sword. "This is the end for you Neo Vongola Secondo!" He yells and jumps forward. Kotsu holds up his fork to block the strike, but Geraldino's ice is incredibly cold and Kotsu feels a slight chill and jumps back as soon as he makes contact with Geraldino's sword.

"This could be bad," Geraldino attacks him again and Kotsu is forced to evade again. The cycle continues with another unblockable attack. Geraldino seems to be much faster with his new ice somehow and Kotsu is having a difficult time keeping up. He lands and sticks his fork into the ground with the spikes pointing diagonally up and holds against it with his ringed hand like a shield as Geraldino crashes his sword in between the spikes and the fork starts bending slightly down towards Kotsu. He switches hand and sets his ring on fire again with his forehead. He holds it against the head of the fork and it grows, even more, making it into a sort of shield shape. Just as he does this he notices that the very end of the fork spikes are tiny purple crystals noting a similarity between them and the gem on his ring, before pulling the fork out and jumping back. However right as he does Geraldino speeds forward ending behind Kotsu and slashes at him with his burning ice sword. Kotsu quickly waves the flaming ring over the end of the fork spikes and they all light up and burst like rocket turbines sending Kotsu flying through a pillar in the middle of the station and he rolls along the ground and grits his teeth.

"Those crystals really did resemble the ones on my ring," He says with a slight smirk as Geraldino walks closer.

"Are you done trying out that stupid fork's capabilities or what!?" He yells and swings around his sword a bit at the air and Kotsu notes the sweat on Geraldino's forehead. 'He's sweating… but that ice is so cold…'

"You're hurting yourself by using that ice, aren't you?" He asks calmly. Geraldino grits his teeth and strikes at Kotsu again. Kotsu once more shoots himself off into the air with the tips of his fork still not having complete control over it yet.

"Don't act like you know what you're talking about!" He yells and slices at the air towards Kotsu and the flames form a sort of ice beam that flies towards Kotsu and Kotsu boosts down again, but right as he does Geraldino is there having predicted the move and Kotsu has no time to swing the fork around now that the head is so heavy due to the previous expansion of the head. He only manages to swing it back halfway and boosts forward towards Geraldino using the boosters at the spikes. He stabs at Geraldino with the other end of the fork and hits him straight in the chest. The ice wolf is sent flying back and hits a wall, but he's quickly up again charging forward once more. Kotsu looks at the fork tips and then at Geraldino and holds the fork over his shoulder and lights the tips again sending him flying straight forward almost like it's a jetpack and Geraldino comes at him just as fast.

"This is it Geraldino! You will not be able to hurt my friends ever again!" Kotsu yells and the two cross fists again with Kotsu punching with his flaming ring and Geraldino with his flaming sword. There's a giant explosion of blue and purple flames and everyone looks worried at the outcome.

The smoke disappears slowly and Geraldino is laying on the ground. Kotsu swings his fork around a little more before slamming it into the ground next to him spikes up.

"I'll admit I hate fighting. Especially meaningless fights and I know I'd have lost if I had nothing to fight for, but I do. I fight for my friends," He starts slowly walking away, going towards Fumie and he cuts the ropes she's being held by with his fork and she jumps out of the chair and Kotsu falls back with Fumie landing on top of him.

"Kotsu-kun! You came to save me!" Kotsu smiles at her still in his hyper form.

"Of course, I did. That's what friends do," He says and she looks into his deep purple eyes.

"Thank you," She says getting up and she blushes slightly. Kotsu stands with her and she can't help but notice how cool he looks with the calm purple eyes.

"No need to do that Fumie-san. I just did what I had to," The flame on his forehead slowly disappears and at the same time, the fork slowly turns back to normal size and changes to looking very ordinary again. He blinks a couple of times and his eyes turn from the purple color back to normal green. He grabs his head as he gets a quick jolt of pain. "W-what… happened to me?" He asks and Fumie suddenly gives Kotsu a little peck on the cheek quickly. His entire head turns red like a tomato.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-why'd… why'd you do THAT Fumie-san?" He asks frantically and Fumie punches him over the head embarrassed as all hell.

"D-don't dwell on it too much Kotsu-kun! I-It's just a friendly gesture! For saving me and stuff," Kotsu rubs the back of his head.

"Y-yeah… I've… never saved someone before so I don't…knooow…" He slowly trails off before falling over backwards much to Fumie's surprise.

"K-Kotsu-kun… Kotsu-kun!" She gets on her knees in front of him and shakes him violently to get the young boy to wake up. "Are you alright Kotsu-kun!?" She yells at him and soon after Reborn comes over and stops her from shaking him.

"Don't worry. His body and mind are just exhausted from using hyper dying will and normal dying will in such a short time. He'll probably be incredibly sore for the next couple of weeks from it,"

Ren comes over and looks at Kotsu. "He sure fought a hard fight huh? Those two went all out on the special effects," He says and smiles.

Geraldino starts slowly moving a bit and within a second Reborn is towering over him with a foot on his stomach. Geraldino slowly opens his eyes. He blushes as he sees Reborn standing over him.

"R-Reborn-senpai… is this a dream?" He says and Reborn raises his foot slightly before putting it back down a bit hard.

"No. But it could quickly turn into a nightmare. Tell me. Why'd you attack Kotsu? He's done nothing to you yet you decide to go all the way to Japan, abandoning the family in the progress, just to kill him. There's a missing link there. Care to fill it in?" Geraldino grits his teeth thinking back to his reasoning. Tsugemora comes up along with Murphy.

"I was just… angry. And jealous! I've been a member of the Vongola family ever since I could even breathe!" He thinks back to when he was very young.

 **-NII-**

He's sitting in a big room eating a fancy dinner with his mother and father. He looks around 8 and much less intimidating.

"Say, dear… have you heard the news?" His mother says and Geraldino's father sends her a curious look.

"Perhaps. What news are you speaking of?" Geraldino is looking intently between the two of them trying to follow their adult conversation.

"My brother is getting married later this year," She says and Geraldino's father nods slowly.

"That's wonderful. Set an X in the calendar," he says and Geraldino's eyes light up.

"Really?! Uncle Gerald is getting married dad!?" Geraldino says excitedly.

"Yes yes, Geraldino. Calm yourself. Behave like a proper mafioso," His father simply comments and Geraldino calms down and keeps eating.

 _"_ _I showed so much promise,"_ He thinks back to a training session still looking around 8. He has a rather large kendo sword in his hands and is fighting a much older man. The man looks Japanese and is fighting expertly. However after not so long Geraldino hits him over the head lightly. "I win!" He says excitedly, jumping into the air in great victory and the man smiles at him.

"Very good Geraldino," He says and Geraldino smiles.

 _"_ _But… then HE was born,"_ His father and mother walk in with two other people walking behind them. One is an older man with a large beard and a tuxedo. The other is a whitehaired woman, who looks very Japanese. Geraldino now looks around 10. He's sitting and reading a book and doing assignments with a private tutor sitting beside him. He looks up and runs over hugging the man behind his father.

"Uncle Gerald!" he yells and the man hugs him.

"Why hello Geraldino. I don't think you've met my wife yet. Say hi to Miyuki. I met her on a business trip to Japan," Geraldino politely shakes her hand and notices that she's holding something in her other arm and as such points to it curiously.

"What's that, miss Miyuki?" He asks and Miyuki kneels down in front of him and shows it to him. It's a blanket wrapped around a little boy with white hair.

"Say hi to Tsugemora, Geraldino. He's your new cousin," Geraldino holds out his hand towards the baby and Tsugemora grabs a tight hold of his finger with his tiny hand and giggles happily making Geraldino get starry eyed.

Everyone chuckles at the adorable scene. "Oh look at him. He already knows who's going to protect him from danger," They all say and Geraldino smiles thinking that he'll do his best to protect him.

 _"_ _At first it was fine! But then…"_ It's a lot later and Geraldino is now around 15. He's sitting at the dinner table and eating properly with his mother father, uncle Gerald, Aunt Miyuki, and Tsugemora who's around 5 now.

"Did you hear Geraldino? Tsugemora is already talking about becoming a bodyguard for Neo Primo," His father says and Geraldino looks at the shy little boy across from him.

"Really?" Geraldino asks and his mother giggles.

"Why can't you be more determined, like Tsugemora sweetie?" She says and Geraldino takes another bite of his food in silence, but it's clear that he's slightly annoyed.

"I'm devoted to the mafia…" He says lowly and eats a bit more.

 _"_ _I've been as determined as I possibly could be just to prove it to them. I unlocked my flame just earlier that year and they STILL thought Tsugemora was better than me! Nothing I did helped! I learned the primitive theory of the burning ice to show my devotion! But…"_ He's now around 20 and standing in a big empty hall surrounded by at least 30 mafioso all with various weapons. He's holding the sword he used against Kotsu. He holds out his hands. "BURNING ICE!" He yells and activates his burning ice ability and in around 20 seconds all 30 of the mafioso are down. His ice slowly disappears. He looks to the side at his father standing by the side. "How do you like THAT dad!?"

His father looks genuinely impressed and slowly claps.

"That is quite the skill you've developed there my son. You really make the most of that rain flame you inherited from me. It does look to take a large stress on your body. Perhaps you should do something like what Tsugemora has just done. He had his entire nerve system electrocuted until he can no longer feel pain. Now THAT'S resolve and devotion," He says and Geraldino grits his teeth.

"Tsugemora… Tsugemora…Tsugemora…Tsugemora… Is that all you have to say to me, dad!? Do you even remember my name!? Cause all you seem to care about is that little twerp of a cousin and how amazing he is! His devotion to the mafia! His amazing new skills! His determination! I have ALL of that too! You think I've been training like this for my entire life because I hate the mafia!?" He yells angrily and his father's eyes widen go wide with surprise at the tone Geraldino's taken. His surprise quickly changes to anger glaring at his son.

"What kind of tone do you think you're taking with me, boy!?" He yells right back and Geraldino stabs the ground with his sword.

"THIS TONE YOU OLD GEEZER! I'm sick and tired of hearing how great everyone BUT ME is! I'm strong! I'm fast! I'm durable! I'm determined! I have resolve! But you and mom have NEVER seen things like that in me since uncle Gerald and aunt Miyuki had that little brat Tsugemora! Now it's all about him!" He yells back with no hesitation.

"Then SHOW me that determination! It won't be long before a bodyguard will be chosen for the next vongola boss. If that one happens to be you I will acknowledge your abilities! So train harder!" He says and leaves Geraldino. He yells off the top of his lungs in frustration grabbing his sword out of the ground.

"Get up! ALL OF YOU!" He yells to the barely conscious mafioso on the floor.

 _"_ _So I trained and trained and trained, but of course…"_ After about half a year Neo Primo has gathered the whole family in a large hall. He steps forward to speak.

"I've not yet decided who shall be the next in line from me as boss, but I have decided to follow in the footsteps of Vongola Nono and as such my successor will be of roughly the same age as me when I was chosen!" The whole room erupts into discussion. However they're all silenced when a red laser shoots across the room.

"QUIET WHEN NEO PRIMO IS SPEAKING!" A man beside him angrily yells and Primo smiles to him.

"Thank you Gokudera. It is the decision I have made. And it is all there is to be said about it. As such the bodyguard who will be protecting him will be someone of roughly the same age also!" Geraldino smirks knowing that in that case he is pretty much the only choice. However, after thinking it over, his eyes turn from confidence to doubt. Unless…

"His bodyguard will be…Tsugemora Gagliardi!" Primo yells and everyone goes silent. Except for a single person. The chosen Tsugemora, who jumps up and down happily in place.

"Alright! I did it! I got chosen!" The people standing immediately around Geraldino quickly start to back off feeling his ominous aura and anyone who's gaze meets his as he looks towards Tsugemora quickly move aside out of fear until there's a clear path to him from where Geraldino's standing.

Tsugemora slowly stops jumping as notices his cousin's deadly glare directed at him. "G-Geraldino…?" Geraldino suddenly leaps towards him unsheathing his sword much to everyone's surprise.

"You little…! It was supposed to be ME!" He swings his sword down, but right before he reaches his target the strike is blocked by two long katana's. The man holding them is a man around Primo's age with short black hair and a small scar on his chin.

"That's enough Geraldino!" He yells and Geraldino starts ruthlessly attacking the man, but each and every one of his attacks are easily blocked. He slowly stops and falls to his knees.

"It was… it was supposed to be me… I'm better than him in every way… why? WHY Primo!?" He yells looking at the man in question who doesn't seem to react to Geraldino's outburst.

"I have my reasons for my decision. And it is final. I'm sorry you feel cheated. I know how much you trained…" He says and Geraldino grits his teeth and pushes his way through the crowd and leaves the hall.

 **-NII-**

"After that, I changed. I became sort of obsessed with doing things my way. I got all these piercings and tattoos to prove that I wouldn't be bound by anyone," He finishes and Reborn nods slowly.

"I see. And when Kotsu became known as the successor you wanted to kill him out of spite towards Neo-good-Primo?" Geraldino nods as Reborn hit the nail right on the head.

"That's right Reborn-senpai…"

"But then why kidnap Fumie when you could've just attacked him instead?" Geraldino looks at Tsugemora.

"I asked Yari to locate Tsugemora and kidnap someone who was close to Tsugemora, since I didn't know what Neo Vongola Secondo looked like… so he mistook her for the real one…" He says and Reborn tsks.

Leon seems to have gotten better after making Kotsu's ring and fork and he transforms into a pair of handcuffs, Reborn uses to bind Geraldino's arms behind his back and he pulls the boy to his feet. Geraldino blushes as Reborn is so close to him.

"Reborn-senpai…" He says lowly and as he walks past Tsugemora he sends him a quick glance. He looks very angry but doesn't do anything as they walk out of there. Ren is walking behind Reborn and Geraldino with Kotsu on his back and Fumie, Murphy and Tsugemora are following close behind. Reborn looks back at Kotsu's resting face. 'You did good kid,' He thinks and Kotsu smiles in his sleep as if he heard him finally getting some praise.


	18. Valentines chaos

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 18: Valentines chaos**

After the absolute hell he's been through after school a few days ago, Kotsu had forgotten that one of the most important days was coming up today. Valentine. He comes down the stairs yawning seeing Ren sitting in the livingroom with Cotton on the table. Unlike normal Ren doesn't seem too happy today. He's still smiling, but his 'aura' is gone. Kotsu won't pretend like he doesn't know why that is. Ren is not a big fan of valentine's day. Why? Well being the target of affection for so many girls is quite troublesome when getting chocolates from the girls on valentine.

"Oh hey lil' bro! Excited for valentine?" He asks with a bright smile. Kotsu sits down laying his forehead onto the table letting out a little grunt.

"What should I be excited for? No one ever gives me chocolates. Which is fair I guess," He says laughing a little. It's quite rare for him to receive such a thing. And by that he means that he's never gotten a single one in his life, except the ones Fumie used to give him back in kindergarten, which he doesn't count since they barely knew the meaning of what they represented.

Ren gives his little brother a few affirmative claps on the back. "You know lil' bro! Who knows!? Maybe today's the day! If not I'll have plenty. We can share a few if you want. I'm not much of a chocolate fan anyway," He says and Kotsu knows he means no harm, but it's still a little annoying, knowing that Ren will have more chocolates than he'll know what to do with. Reborn comes down the stairs sitting at his usual spot pouring a bit of morning coffee.

"What's the matter with him NOW?" he asks looking at the young boy who's lost his will to move.

"It's valentine," Ren simply says hoping the hitman will understand.

"I see. So he's being childishly jealous,"

Kotsu raises his head. "Hey!"

However his anger is quickly shot down. "Quiet. I'm NOT a morning person. Go to school will you?" He simply says and the two boys do as they're told, if only because they had to anyway.

 **-NII-**

On the way they meet up with both Tsugemora and Fumie. They'd luckily been able to convince Fumie that it was just a game and that everything was alright and she wasn't in any danger. "Happy valentine Nii-san!" Tsugemora yells happily pumping his fist. "I will assist you in carrying ALL the chocolate you're going to get!" He says happily. Fumie is of course quiet as of right now, carrying her bag of chocolate behind her back.

"S-so um… Ren-senpai…? I-I know you're probably going to get plenty today but…" She holds the little bag out with a neatly tied bow. "B-but please accept mine too! J-just as the first if nothing else," Ren smiles at her as he's bowing and everything, probably afraid of looking him in the eyes.

He takes the little bag off her hands smiling. "Thank you for the gesture Fumie-san. From you it's alright. After all you're the girl I spend the most time with… other than Cotton and my mom of course," He says and Fumie blushes knowing that he doesn't really mean anything by it.

However Tsugemora is quite annoyed looking at Fumie. "And where is Nii-san's chocolate!?" He demands to know and Kotsu just sighs.

"None for me Tsugemora," he simply says a little let down for some reason. Maybe it was that kiss she gave him for saving her when Geraldino took her…

"Don't worry Kotsu-kun! I'm sure you'll get some this year. You've done a lot of crazy stuff! Like that time the soccer club won't stop talking about! And- And that time when some of your classmates saw you hanging out with some crazy red-haired people!" She says before stopping a little getting a little shyer. "And… that game you played where you saved me… I've been telling my friends about that. About how cool you were…" She says and Kotsu gulps.

"U-um… thanks I guess… b-but it wasn't really… something I'm super proud of…"

 **-NII-**

They get through the school gate, leaving Tsugemora behind and after taking their shoes off they open their lockers and naturally, as they all expected, Ren's has a few confession letters inside them. All pink and with a few heart stickers and such. Ren chuckles a little picking them up. "I guess it would be rude of me not to read these…" he says putting them in his bag. "For later though," he says clapping the pocket they're in.

Kotsu almost can't help but be disappointed that there're none in his own, but oh well! He shouldn't expect anything. Then he won't be let down. He and Fumie go to their classroom and quite a few bags of chocolate are placed on desks around the class. Quite adorable in a way as all the boys pick them up to look at them. Kotsu just laughs sitting down at his own desk, laying his head forward, but it hits something… something… crunchy…? He looks seeing a little bag on his desk. There's a little letter under it. He picks up the bag. It smells amazing! Definitely filled with sweets and other goods. He shakes it a little to make sure he didn't break anything. After all! There's NO way it's meant for him! Someone mistook the person's desk for his own. However at that moment he realizes that the people sitting to both his left and right are girls, so someone'd REALLY have to mess up to place it on his desk.

He checks the letter too just to make sure. 'to Kotsukiba Niruo' he reads and instantly slams it facedown on his table feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. This naturally gets the attention of everyone around hearing the loud noise. Some of them laugh a little seeing how flustered he is. "What's the matter Kotsu? Never gotten one of those before?" One of the girls asks as a joke, but he just slowly nods.

"H-how do you- I mean me- How do I react to… this?" He asks holding up the letter. The girl just looks confused.

"Well aren't you going to read it first to find out who it is…?" She asks and Kotsu gulps at the mere thought of reading the content of this letter. What if it was someone he knew! What if it was someone he'd forgotten at some point. Even worse… what if he DIDN'T know the person. Every single scenario would be awkward for him to deal with. He decides that it's probably the rudest thing in the world to not read it. But right as he's about to open the letter their teacher comes in.

"Alright everyone! Class is starting. Please refrain from reading or passing any love letters around during class. I know valentine is always fun and such, but please," He says and Kotsu quickly takes the excuse to put off reading it. Who WAS it from?

 **-NII-**

After the lesson where Kotsu spent most of it looking around trying to see if any girl from his class is looking at him or anything of the like. But no. He's never been so distracted by a simple letter. The bell rings and they're assigned homework. Kotsu takes out the letter but something's not right. It looks different now… curious.

However all his questions are answered as he hears the intercom turn on and the voice of a certain living breathing torture device comes through. "Evening everyone. My name is Reborn. And during the lesson I've taken the liberty of swapping around EVERY single love letter any of you have gotten. Good luck getting them back. Anyone who has a letter right now, has one meant for them," He says before it turns off and Kotsu instantly regrets every life choice he's ever made. It seems he wasn't the only boy who put off reading his letter. Every other boy is panicking and so are the girls, seeing as their letter might be read by someone other than the rightful owner.

"What do we do!?" One of the boys yells. Kotsu is NOT really in the mood for asking people if they have his letter. But if it's true that everyone has a letter that doesn't belong to them, then there IS one person who is guaranteed to have tons of letters from others. REN! He slowly gets up tiptoeing out of the door. "Hey! Kotsu! Where're YOU going!?" The boy declares and Kotsu blushes.

"Um… I'm going to go try and find the owner of this letter…" He says holding it up, but he's glared down.

"You're just going to read it aren't you!?"

"W-wha…!? N-no way!" He says trying to defend himself.

"I don't believe you!" He says and bolts after him. Kotsu's eyes widen as he makes a run for it. He's quickly joined by the other boys and Kotsu just runs for his life. Luckily for him he's become quite efficient at running for his life with Reborn's training.

He makes it down the stairs and outside. He quickly jumps behind a bush before his classmates come out of the door. He sits completely still, seeing them start the search like a gang trying to locate an escaped prisoner. However he hears a bit of sobbing behind him. He turns to see a girl. She has black hair held out of her face with a little snowflake-shaped hairclip. She looks really closed off just crying to herself. "H-hey… a-are you okay?" he whispers and the girl stops sobbing looking up at him with teary purple eyes. As soon as she sees his face she freezes in place, starting to shake.

"I-I-I-I-I… Y-you…" She tries clearly wanting to just flee from him now. Kotsu sits down next to her, making sure there's a little distance between them.

"Um… you wrote a letter to someone right… and… you're afraid someone else will read it right?" She slowly nods, head buried in her arms and knees. "Yeah… my classmates think I'm going to read the one I have… but I think I know who might have the real one I got… it was really surprising to get a letter AND chocolates. Never gotten that before," He says and the girl jitters a little.

"S-s-so you… y-you're not… u-used to getting… stuff…?" She stumbles through her sentence and Kotsu nods. But before he can answer one of the boys from his class see them.

"I FOUND HIM!" He yells and Kotsu grabs the girl's hand without thinking and makes a run for it, like they're running from a horde of angry zombies.

"Come on!"

"W-w-w-wait…!" The girl tries but just runs along anyway. The two make it into the school where it seems a few of his classmates has gotten other boys in on the idea of Kotsu's ill behavior.

"Uuuuuhh THIS way!" Kotsu says running down one of the hallways. The girl is just really quiet going along with him seemingly too shy to speak up. They make it to a corner and see a few boys looking around for him, so in order to avoid everyone Kotsu instinctively goes into the toilet locking them both in a stall. "Phew… safe for now I suppose…" He says and the girl almost squeals in terror. Kotsu had almost forgotten she was along and he realizes the tight space they're in. "A-alright… this was NOT the plan," He says just to assure her that he's not weird. However she covers her face going as far from him as possible.

"I-I-It's… It's alright! I-I know y-you're not that kind of… guy," She stutters and Kotsu now realizes how weird this must be to her.

"Y-you know what kind of guy I am…?" He asks and she nods.

"I-I-I'm in your class…" She manages to get out, leading the boy to mentally go through the names and faces of every girl in his class, kind of embarrassed that he's never noticed the girl before. After all… she's very pretty… He shakes his head ridding himself of the thought.

"Um… I… can't seem to place your name… c-could you give me the first… syllable…?" He asks and the girl briefly lets her mouth escape her hands.

"Ri," Kotsu once more gets to thinking.

"Ri… Ri… RINOKA!" He blurts out and the girl blushes wildly as he seems so excited to remember her name. She slowly nods to confirm her name and Kotsu is honestly stunned. This is Rinoka? He knew there was someone in class named Rinoka, but he honestly can't say he's ever seen much of her… "A-alright… Rinoka… w-what do we do? About… the guys outside…?" He asks and Rinoka blushes a little looking to the side.

"I-I-I don't know... b-but y-you just…" She starts and he realizes he just dragged her along without any reason.

"Y-yeah… sorry about that… I just… did that without thinking," He says unlocking the stall for her to leave. "You can go… I don't think they'll attack you like they will attack me," However Rinoka doesn't move instead her eyes go wide and she holds up her hands to protect herself again. Kotsu also realizes something's not right. He notes the large shadow looming over him. He looks back seeing Reborn.


	19. Kotsu and the letters

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 19: Kotsu and the letters**

Reborn has just seen Kotsu inside the toilet booth alone with Rinoka while his classmates are outside searching for him. "What do you think you're doing Kotsu?" the hitman asks angrily causing both Rinoka and Kotsu to have the same reaction. Whimpering a little in fear.

"R-Reborn!? T-t-this isn't what it looks like! I-I was running from my classmates a-and ended up dragging her along with me and without thinking I went in here!" He desperately explains and Reborn just glares at him.

"That isn't what I meant. I meant why're you in here hiding? You're a man aren't you. Not only a man, but one with an admirer. What would she think seeing you hiding like a coward?" He says grabbing Kotsu by the ear tossing him out of the toilet booth. The hitman looks back at Rinoka. "You're not in trouble," He adds kicking Kotsu out onto the hallway, before tossing him the fork he got from Leon which he had left at home. "Now go find your real letter," He simply says following him into the hallway.

"Y-you're kidding right!? Everyone wants to KILL me right now!?" He yells inadvertently getting the attention of everyone around him, much to his own dismay.

"That makes it easy. Everyone will come to you," Reborn simply responds and heads down the hallways where all the boys are already coming at him. Kotsu sees that the only way to go is up since boys are piling after him from both the left and right. He takes the staircase up, realizing very quickly that UP is the WORST direction to go, since you'll very quickly reach a point where you can't go any further up. He swings out at the second floor soon followed by the hoard.

He runs past Ren who's walking around with his letters curiously wondering where the real owners are. He sees Kotsu smiling, and starts running with him.

"Hey there lil' bro! What's the rush!?" He says and Kotsu just pants being crazily exhausted.

"Ren! I um… I got a letter! But it got swapped as I'm sure you know. A-and they think I'm going to read this one… so they're trying to stop me,"

Ren gets a little serious. "Well… were you?"

"NO! Why one earth would I?! I have enough on my mind as it is!" He yells and Ren pushes him into the stairwell again.

"This way lil' bro!" He says going up the stairs seeing some coming from below too. "This is kinda like a zombie-movie eh lil' bro!?"

"Yeah! But I HATE those kinds of movies!" Ren laughs as they make it to the rooftop.

"I think it's kind of cool!" He says and they run across the roof where a few people are just eating to themselves. Like… Reborn? He's just sitting and looking at them. Kotsu has no time to think as they get on top of the water tower on top as there's nowhere else to go.

"There's nowhere left for you to flee Kotsu! Just hand over the letter!" One of the boys declare and Kotsu can't help but imagine the sight of a super hero film where he's backed into a corner.

"B-but if I do that I can't get the REAL one that's meant for me! I DON'T want to read this one!" He yells back. A few girls have also started to pop up having seen all the commotion going on. Rinoka included as she was quite literally smackdab in the middle of it all.

Some of them note that Ren's with him. "Ren you traitor! Why're you with him!?"

Ren smiles putting a hand on Kotsu's head. "Well I can't let my lil' bro get trampled now can I? And I know that he'd never do something like read another's love letter," He says and Kotsu can't help but realize that Ren actually asked him if he was going to do it. "But what about YOU guys? Were some of YOU planning on reading other people's letters?" He adds and they all hold up their letters.

"Of course not! That would be wrong!"

Ren just laughs a little. "Then why would my lil' bro do it?" He asks and everyone realizes that he has a fair point. However before they can apologize there's an incredible gust of wind out of nowhere and everyone's letters fly to the wind. Every letter dangling around able to fly anywhere now!

"Oh no!" Every boy yells in unison and Kotsu gulps seeing it all happen knowing that his letter is among those. "What do we do!? Can someone get them!?" One of the boys yells and Reborn smirks taking a bite of his sandwich.

Leon transforms into a gun and he shoots at Kotsu with the dying will bullet. Kotsu falls off the water tower landing on the ground below. 'I'm dead… again?! If only I could've caught all of those letters… maybe I could've found out who actually liked me… or at least what they wrote…' He thinks laying dead with people looking on in horror. However after a second Kotsu springs to his feet, his clothes bursting off and his flame appearing on his forehead as always. "RE… BOOOOOORNNN!" He yells off the top of his lungs. "I WILL CATCH ALL THE LOVE LETTERS WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells and before he sets off Reborn smirks shooting a couple of jump bullets at Kotsu's feet and another green bullet at his chest. Kotsu feels the strange sensation as he jumps off.

"That ought to help," he says as Kotsu's improved jumping power sends him flying over the letters gently falling about. He falls grabbing as many as he can with his hands, some hitting his body somehow getting stuck to him. "The sticky bullet," Reborn says mostly to himself.

Kotsu lands on the ground all the way below the school, gritting his teeth. "NOT… ENOUGH!" He yells jumping again getting more and more stuck to his body. Upon jumping for the last three letters her gets two of them while the third ends up burning in his flame. He lands and the bullets all wear off. He blinks a few times realizing that he's alive and all the boys come running down to see him. He's really embarrassed, but leaves it for a little to hand out people's letters. Naturally he just sets the ones meant for Ren to the side since it's easier to just give them to him afterwards. In the end Kotsu's given out every letter and gotten a spare school uniform from Reborn. There's a little pile for Ren which he picks up with a slight nervous smirk.

"Guess you got everyone's letters back eh lil' bro?" He says proud of his little brother for doing the right thing and Kotsu just sighs looking around.

"But… my letter wasn't there…" He says and Ren's eyes go wide with surprise.

"What!? That's terrible! Do you know who wrote it!?" He asks and Kotsu shakes his head.

"Nope… never read it," he says as the two go back inside for the next lesson. In class he sees Rinoka shyly enter the classroom trying her best not to make any noise. Kotsu gets up and goes to apologize.

She wildly blushes seeing him approach. "I-I-I…" She starts and Kotsu just bows.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble…" He says looking up again. "But we can still be friends right?" He asks and Rinoka looks a little flustered and confused.

"S-s-sure…" She manages before running to her seat.

Kotsu sits back down noting the bag of chocolate is STILL there. He takes out a snack from it thinking it'd be pretty rude not to eat it, even if he doesn't know who wrote the letter or who made it. He takes a bite, the taste hitting him like a tidal wave. It's… terrible! Absolutely the worst thing he's ever tasted. At least when it came to chocolate.

Rinoka sees him try it and gets a little depressed seeing his face change to reflect the taste. He swallows hard to almost force it down. He pants after eating the piece. How on earth can something smell so good but taste so absolutely terrible!? As he thinks that Rinoka can almost tell and lays her head into her arms knowing she failed. However she hears the crunching noise again as Kotsu took another piece. Her eyes are wide. Why's he STILL eating it after making that face!?

Kotsu swallows yet another piece. Someone went through a LOT of trouble to make this for him. Even if he doesn't know who made it eating it is common curtesy no matter how horrid the taste.

 **-NII-**

After school that day Kotsu is still walking around with a horrid taste in his mouth, but he ignores it going to the gate as everyone seems to be having a great time now that they've gotten their letters back. He sees Tsugemora waiting at the gate for him and prepares to be assaulted. Three… two… one… and… nothing…? He looks to see why not, but Tsugemora is eating some chocolate. You're… kidding right? TSUGEMORA got a bag? HOW!?

The young body guard spots him, putting his chocolate away before sprinting at Kotsu. "NIIIIIIIII-SAAAAAAAAN!" He yells jumping at him as expected and Kotsu moves aside making him tumble across the ground. "How was valentine Nii-san!? How many letters did you get!? NO! Silly question! You got ALL of them right!?" He yells and Kotsu sighs.

"No… just one… but I lost it before I could read it…" He says and Ren comes up behind them.

"Don't worry about that lil' bro! I'm sure she'll still be around next valentine," He simply says as they begin their walk home.

"By the way Tsugemora who did YOU get chocolates from!?" Kotsu asks almost annoyed that Tsugemora is as popular as him and he doesn't even go to school!

"Oh… I got those from Miss Niruo-sama! She said she helped Cotton make them for me," Kotsu raises an eyebrow a little. Cotton? Whatever. Anything goes in his crazy world doesn't it…?

 **-NII-**

Rinoka looks around the corner seeing the little group walk away. "W-w-why'd you eat them…? t-they were really bad…" she asks Kotsu well-knowing that he's too far away to hear her.

"Because he's a nice guy. A klutz and an idiot. But nice," Reborn says walking past her also going home now.

"W-w-w-wha…?" She stumbles surprised almost falling back and Reborn just smirks her way.

"If you want I can give him a message from you,"

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-no… no thank you," She finally gets out and Reborn just chuckles a little.

"Alright. I won't tell him you wrote him a love letter then," He says, confidently walking down the street and Rinoka blushes even more hearing him say that.

"T-thank you…" She says too shy to ask why he knows SHE wrote the letter. She just blushes before running down the street going the other way from Kotsu and the gang.


	20. Family visit

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 20: Family visit**

Kotsu comes home from one of his final days as a first year. As soon as he opens the door none other than Tsugemora is standing right inside seemingly waiting for him. Oh no… what's going on THIS time!?

"Good day, Nii-san!" the bodyguard proclaims doing honors.

Kotsu lazily sighs. "Tsugemora… what do I owe the pleasure?" he asks while putting up his jacket and taking off his shoes.

"Time!" Tsugemora answers with WAY too much vigor.

"Time…?" Kotsu asks as the two go in the living room, Kotsu realizes that there're quite a few people here. Including Murphy, the accident hitman, Cotton naturally, Ren is still there and Reborn too. Then there're two more people. Both of which Kotsu recognizes. Upon seeing them he's immediately woken up. He almost falls back preparing to defend himself. The two people are Jute, Cotton's eldest brother, and… Geraldino!? What in the world is he doing here?!

"Yo Secondo," Geraldino say smirking, his cyan eyes piercing Kotsu's very soul freezing it to the core.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what're THEY doing here!?" He frantically asks shaking and pointing.

His mother pokes her head out of the kitchen. "They're here to celebrate Tsugemora's birthday sweetie! Isn't that exciting? He's turning 13 today," She says with a smile and Kotsu realizes what Tsugemora meant by time being the reason he was there. looks back to Geraldino and Jute. To be honest he's only scared of Geraldino as Jute never really resorted to violence.

"Don't worry. I ain't planning on attacking this time around. Not with HIM around," He says pointing to the kitchen.

"That's right Nii-san! Come! Come!" Tsugemora says pulling Kotsu along into the kitchen where he sees a man he's pretty sure he's never seen before. Brown beard and in a suit with a few scars on his face.

The man turns to look at Kotsu. "And who might this be Tsugemora?"

Tsugemora does honors proudly. "This is Nii-san, father! As you can see he's still alive and well!" He proclaims with an immense sense of pride and Kotsu gulps seeing just how strong-looking and brooding this large man is. THIS is Tsugemora's father.

"I see. So YOU are the candidate Primo has chosen. I must say I certainly expected him to pick someone more… suited. No offense,"

"N-none taken sir," Kotsu says frantically trying his hardest to seem as inoffensive as humanly possible.

"Oh please! I should be the one addressing YOU as sir. That is… IF you end up being the chosen one. Anyway I'm Gerald," he says brushing that last comment aside, while holding out his hand and Kotsu quickly shakes it. He also makes the instant connection between his name and Geraldino's.

"S-so… Geraldino is named after you sir?"

He nods with a little chuckle. "Seems my brother was quite fond of me,"

Kotsu laughs as well mostly nervously, due to the fact that Geraldino isn't doing anything for the specific reason that Gerald is here. Just how strong is this man…?

Reborn is suddenly in the kitchen as well. Naturally right behind Kotsu. "By the way Kotsu. Geraldino and Jute will be staying here for a few weeks," Kotsu almost faints at the simple thought of having a man who tried to murder him and another man who may or may not be equally as strong living in his house.

His thoughts are however taken off that horrifying subject for just a few moments as the doorbell rings suddenly and he runs to open up. Reborn smirks. "Also… I took the liberty of inviting over a few of your acquaintances," He says and Kotsu opens the door to see none other than Fumie and behind her Rinoka, who's hiding almost.

"Hey Kotsu-kun! Mind if we come in!? I heard it's Tsugemora's birthday!" She says in her usual cheery manner. But Kotsu has the slight feeling that Fumie is not there to see Tsugemora. Those two never got along very well… instead she might be there just to be with Ren… As for why Rinoka is there… Kotsu honestly has no clue.

"Well um… come on in… we might be a bit… overbooked I guess is the right word," He says laughing a bit nervously.

Kotsu gladly lets them in with Rinoka tiptoeing her way inside. She blushes seeing Kotsu so close to her again. "H-h-hello Kotsu-san…" She says before almost sprinting inside. Kotsu closes the door and there's a bit of a preparty going on while Kotsu's mother and Gerald are preparing everything in the kitchen.

Kotsu looks to Tsugemora who's having a blast, however it's clear that someone among all of them are kind of ruining the mood. Specifically Geraldino. Tsugemora can't seem to let his cousin out of his sight.

Geraldino just grits his teeth, getting up going to a cabinet grabbing some paper and a pen, sitting in a corner for himself. "I know I'm not welcome alright. I only came because Reborn-senpai said I should. And I'm grateful for that," He says to himself mostly as he seems to start drawing. Kotsu can't help but find it almost childish that a guy like him draws.

Around the room people are starting to settle into little groups. Rinoka sitting on the couch hugging a pillow with Jute by her side. "Hey um… you alright there miss? You seem rather pent up," He says with that big brother tone he's known for.

Rinoka jumps a little hearing him speak to her. He DOES look rather intimidating after all. "I-I-I-I'm… I'm fine sir…" She says trying to hide her face in the pillow when Jute gently pushes it down to show her a friendly hand.

"that's good to hear. I'm Jute Rossa. I'm Cotton's older brother," He says and Rinoka grabs one of his fingers shyly shaking which he finds kind of adorable.

"W-who's… Cotton…?" She decides to ask not really knowing anyone in the room other than Kotsu and Fumie. Jute laughs a little before pointing to the table.

"The little troublemaker there," He says.

Cotton is jumping around the table with a lighter flailing it around almost setting fire to the house while Tsugemora and Murphy of all people try to stop her. "Hey you little pest! Stop making trouble at Nii-san's house!" Tsugemora tries grabbing after her but she just jumps over it.

"TIAHAHAHA! Cotton-heika is no pest! She is the overlord of the universe and you mere mortals shall not catch her!" She yells and Murphy grabs at her as well.

"Come on Cotton. Be a nice little girl and give the fire to the adults," He says well aware he is the only adult out of him and Tsugemora. Cotton jumps out of the way, but drops her lighter and before it goes out it hits Murphy's hair setting fire to it and he quickly runs to the kitchen to put it out while Tsugemora finally catches her.

"Geez you little annoying parasite," He says. "Imagine how badly that could've gotten. You'd definitely have gotten Jute angry," He says and Cotton pouts looking at her big brother.

"Cotton-heika is not afraid of Jute-nii-san like Tsugemortal is afraid of that mean-looking man in the corner!" She yells referring to Geraldino who's still drawing by himself. However Tsugemora gets a little bit of a cold sweat when he sees someone approach the gangster.

Fumie stomps over to the ice wolf angrily and points at him when she's right in front of him. "Hey you! You were the one who involved me in that game without my approval!" She yells and Geraldino looks up from his drawing.

"Yeah? What of it?" He says standing up towering over the young girl. "You gonna do something about it?"

She pokes him on the chest not intimidated in the slightest. "Apologize!" She demands and Geraldino is a bit taken aback. No one's ever dared to talk in such a demanding tone with the sole exception of his father.

"Haaaa…" He starts with a smirk. "You want ME to apologize to a little girl like YOU. I'll snap you in half in a second," He says with an intimidating glare.

But Fumie doesn't back down. "Now you listen here pal! I don't care WHO you are, but you can't just bring other people into YOUR mess without asking for permission!" She tries again when she suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder.

It's Ren. "Now now Fumie-san. Let's not ruin the party. It's meant to be fun for everyone," He says grabbing Fumie and Geraldino's hand and forces them to do a handshake. "There. Be friends you two alright?" he says in his diplomatic and kind voice.

Geraldino quickly pulls his hand back. "What's with this goodie-two-shoes? What are you? My mom?" He asks and Ren just chuckles.

"Not quite but I AM Kotsu's big brother. I must say I was really impressed with the level of effects in this game you two play," He says before grabbing Fumie and walking away before things escalate which Kotsu is honestly a little happy about.

Geraldino just sits down again and keeps drawing. After a few seconds another shadow covers his light. "WHAT?!" Kotsu jumps a little as Geraldino glares up at him. "Oh. It's just you. If you're here to brag about your win I'll be sure to tell you I'll kill you if we ever fight again," He says and Kotsu just shakes his head.

"I… wasn't going to do that. I… just wanted to see what you're drawing…" He says looking over seeing a really. And I mean REALLY crude drawing.

Geraldino chuckles confidently. "I know. A true masterpiece if I do say so myself,"

Kotsu looks quite confused. "Y-yeah… It's a nice… cat…" He trying to compliment his drawing and Geraldino's expression changes quite quickly as Kotsu can see he almost snaps the pencil with his finger.

"It's a house," He says and Kotsu finds the most logical thing to do right now to just… back away slowly.

"CAKE is served everyone!" Kotsu's mother says and everyone takes a few minutes to get to the table in an orderly fashion which seems like an impossible task given the types of people that're there.

Kotsu's mother comes in with two large cakes since one wouldn't be near enough. She puts one in front of Tsugemora who's sitting at the end of the table with Kotsu and Gerald at his sides, the prior feeling quite out of place in front of the large man. "Happy birthday Tsugemora-kun! And thank you for being Kotsu's friend. And thank you everyone for coming to celebrate," She yells into the room and everyone starts eating with most not being able to not do crazy stuff, like Cotton trying to steal everyone's cake with Jute trying to stop her.

Tsugemora laughs happily at the sight of so many people coming to his birthday party. "This is SO AWESOME NII-SAN! Everyone you know are gathered here JUST to celebrate my birthday!" He exclaims happily, Kotsu wondering how exactly his childhood birthdays went. He always seems so happy to simply be around Kotsu, but how was he before this. When he first met the young boy he seemed a lot more… hard and cold.

"Y-yeah. But these aren't just the people 'I' know Tsugemora. They're also people that YOU know," He says looking down the table with a smile. Tsugemora nods as the two start eating their cake.

Gerald looks at Kotsu with wondering eyes. "Young man… may I ask… is it true what Reborn has reported? That it was you who defeated Geraldino?" He asks and Kotsu almost chokes on his cake, but nods almost embarrassed.

"Y-yeah… that was me…"

Gerald looks almost disappointed over at Tsugemora much to Kotsu's surprise. "So you have not even surpassed that traitor of our family yet Tsugemora?" Tsugemora shakes his head and Kotsu looks confused at Gerald.

"W-why'd you say something like that? You know how strong Geraldino is!?" He asks thinking back to that battle. By far the toughest guy he'd ever met and even Reborn complimented his strength.

"Wanting my own to surpass someone is not a bad thing, boy. Do not be mistaken. I did not say it disappointed me,"

"Oh… well… if… MY dad had said something like that to me…I-I'm pretty sure I'd feel like I've disappointed him…" He tries to redeem his previous statement.

"I see. Where IS your father anyway? I do not see him here…" He says looking around for Kotsu and Ren's dad.

"He's… not around… some dad he was…" He says as silently as possible. Almost like he's afraid of someone hearing it.

Tsugemora's eyes go wide and he leans over quickly. "I believed your father was just on a business trip Nii-san!? W-where is he!?" He yells out, luckily not interrupting the conversation on the other side of the table. Kotsu is once more stunned at the almost childish innocence Tsugemora portrays. HOW can he be on a business trip for… however long Kotsu's known Tsugemora!? He's honestly lost track of time at this point.

"I don't know… He left a long time ago… but… I'm glad he's gone. I never got to know him properly. All I know is that he was a criminal. And when my mom found out he ran away without a word. That… jerk…" He says gritting his teeth angrily at the thought of his father. "A-anyway can we change the topic I don't like talking about someone I don't know!" He almost pleads after getting slightly uncomfortable talking about his father.

"I see. If you wish for it, boy… I can find your father and have him brought to justice. The Vongola family has a lot of intelligence agents. Finding a single man with a criminal record should not be difficult," Gerald suggests with Tsugemora instantly on board with the idea.

"That would be amazing! Bring down the man making Nii-san sad!"

"W-what!? T-that was nowhere NEAR what you were supposed to take away from that!" Kotsu says and Gerald finally decides to change the subject.

"I see… well I have a little issue I'm still trying to figure out. And you may be able to shed some light on the situation, boy," Gerald says finally changing the subject much to Kotsu's pleasure.

"Yeah… I… can't really see how I'd be able to help but… sure," He asks, now quite curious as to what kind of question he's about to be asked.

"I have been trying to figure out how on earth a young boy like you managed to defeat Geraldino. That boy is very powerful, and until now you have not shown any semblance of strength or intelligence. No offense of course,"

Kotsu gets a little annoyed at that statement though to be honest he completely understands where Gerald is coming from. Kotsu is not the smartest or strongest after all. "That's um… complicated I guess…"

"I see. In that case I would like for you to show me," He suddenly says and Kotsu almost chokes on his cake as he coughs a little.

"Y-you want me to WHAT!?" He asks finally grabbing the attention of the others.

"I challenge you to a sparring match," Gerald says and Kotsu gulps.

"S-sorry I don't think I ca-" He starts however he's interrupted.

"He accepts your challenge," Reborn says getting up. "But I want you to assure me Gerald. You will NOT…" He starts looking deadly serious and Kotsu looks relieved. 'Oh good… he wants him to not hurt me… phew…' He thinks before his safety is shattered. "… hold back against him," Reborn finishes and Kotsu looks elsewhere for support but everyone's just cheering him on. Dammit! This family is CRAZY!

The two are escorted into the garden where Gerald puts on a ring with a green gem in it much like Geraldino's blue gem. Kotsu looks to find any way out of this situation, but Reborn hands him his purple ring and fork. "here. Give him hell Klutsu," He says and Kotsu lifts an eyebrow.

"K-Klutsu?"

"Yeah. Figured calling you Kotsu is too kind for an idiot like you. It's a combo of klutz and Kotsu. Klutsu,"

"S-suuuure… but… can I NOT fight Tsugemora's dad? He seems… REALLY strong," He complains and Reborn shakes his head.

"This is going to be MUCH more important than you think it is," He says before suddenly pointing Leon at Kotsu.

"Wai-!" Kotsu starts before he's shot and his hyper dying will activates.

Gerald smirks. "I see. So this is the reason you defeated Geraldino," He says and everyone looks on his mother's heart jumping a little seeing her son, cool and composed unlike he normally.

"K-Kotsu…" She says being reminded of him and Ren's father.

"That's right Gerald-san. I don't want to fight you. But. I see there's no way around it. So…" He lights his ring up, his fork growing to the long staff size he used against Geraldino. "Let's do this Gerald-san,"


	21. Kotsu vs Gerald: What's in a boss?

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 21: Kotsu vs Gerald: what's in a boss?**

Everyone's standing in the house looking out at Kotsu and Gerald who're about to start their bout. Kotsu in his hyper dying will mode with his large fork at the ready.

"I hope you're ready Gerald-san," Kotsu says before he shoots off with the rockets on the forktips. Gerald jumps out of the way of the charge attack before he punches at Kotsu from the side, but Kotsu just moves his fork in the way.

Gerald jumps back chuckling. "I'll admit that took me a little by surprise. But I think I should get serious," he says his ring lighting up with a green surge of electricity. Kotsu looks curiously never having seen such a power before. However he is further surprised when Gerald takes out a small green box with a hole in it. However he decides that attacking now is the opportune time! He leaps forward striking at him with the fork and Gerald kicks up at it feeling himself get overpowered by the young boy quite quickly and he jams his ring into the box quickly before jumping back, making Kotsu's fork slam into the ground. "Shall we get serious then, boy?" Gerald says and Kotsu flings his fork over his shoulder, prepared for anything Gerald can throw at him. He sees Gerald hold a short metal baton. He swings it a little before almost flicking it down and it turns into a green laser sword giving off little sparks of electricity.

"A sword huh?" He says and Gerald leaps forward taking initiative this time and he strikes at Kotsu with his large imposing figure the young boy blocking the downward strike with both his hands the sparks from the sword flying off some of it hitting Kotsu's face. He ignores the light twitching before pushing Gerald away going in for another strike.

"Why would he pick you of all people?" he says and Kotsu stabs at him with the fork Gerald blocking it right in between the two middle spikes, however he does slide back a little before all of the energy from the strike is gone. "You have none of the qualifications a boss needs to have. You're a lot stronger like this I'll admit but you still stand no cha-" He starts when suddenly Kotsu extends the two middle spikes grazing Gerald's cheek, forcing him to jump back or get stabbed. The second he lands Kotsu goes on the attack shooting forward with the rocket boosters swinging his fork over his head and Gerald blocks with a horizontal two-handed block over his head.

"I said I'd fight you. Not speak to you Gerald-san. You said you wanted me to show you. And the easiest way to do that is to simply defeat you," Kotsu says, suddenly letting go of his fork and lighting up his ring with his forehead punching at Gerald hitting him dead on as he had no time to react. In the second after Gerald gains back his balance he swings at Kotsu who jumps over the attack, grabbing his fork out of the air boosting himself down and Gerald strikes upward to block with his saber, when suddenly Kotsu does a flip kicking downwards right past Gerald's block. The mafioso manages to just move back to avoid however the second Kotsu lands he uses his spinning momentum to swing his fork around and strike down at the man. Though he manages to get a block up it's quickly broken as the saber snaps in two and Gerald is grazed by the spikes of the fork, as he once more managed to avoid a full on confrontation however he notes something when the forks come down. They're lit! Before he can get out of the way Kotsu blasts them off with max power standing his ground as Gerald is shot across the garden. He lands on his feet stopping himself with the sword which has repaired itself. "Had enough?" Kotsu asks swinging the fork back over his shoulder.

Everyone in the house gasps. With Rinoka being really scared of what's happening. However Ren leans down to comfort her. "Hey. Don't worry. It's a game my little brother's gotten into. It's all special effects to look cool. And Kotsu gets REALLY into it from what I understand,"

"B-b-b-but… i-it looks so… d-dangerous… a-are you sure they're not g-going to get hurt… t-that m-man looks really… s-s-scary," She stutters and Ren just chuckles.

"Don't you worry. Kotsu's fought and won against that guy with the tattoos. So intimidating people aren't really that scary for him. And it's just a game so they're not actually aiming to hit each other."

However while everyone sees Kotsu winning two people are NOT seeing that he's winning. Those two being Gerald's biological family, Tsugemora and Geraldino. Reborn also seems to be doubting that confidence Kotsu is showing. "He's not done. Far from it. Kotsu's probably going to lose," Reborn says gritting his teeth. "That old man. I told him not to hold back," He says angrily and Murphy gulps.

"Are you sure he's not going all out? That was quite the exchange after all…"

"Gerald has been a mafioso since he was quite young and even before that he was quite a ruffian. Thinking he's done would be doing the man a disservice," he adds and Geraldino smirks looking out.

"that little shrimp's going to get it thinking he's won,"

"Nii-san…"

Gerald chuckles standing tall, and although he looks quite damaged he doesn't even seem intimidated by Kotsu's display. "I see now. Why you defeated Geraldino! Pure luck!" he yells out much to Kotsu's surprise.

"What are you talking about?!"

"I have watched Geraldino grow up becoming as strong as he is today and such meager power shouldn't have been able to overpower him. But it's easy to see why you managed to defeat him," he says pointing his laser sword at Kotsu's fork. "that weapon! It is such a strange weapon to utilize. Unpredictable and versatile! A dangerous combination to be sure, but THAT is the reason Geraldino lost! He has the strength of a hundred mafioso, but what he holds in power he lacks in intelligence. Unlike me. Now I will show you what I can really do…"

"You talk a big game Gerald-san, but I felt your full strength from every attack. You have nothing left to surprise me with," Kotsu states. "Accept that I have the right to have been chosen,"

"Boy. Listen to what I say right now. 'I' will not be chosen as a boss candidate by the top council, OR by the outside advisor. Why? Because I am not strong enough to be boss, AND I have not the expertise necessary for such an important position. And from what I've seen you certainly don't have the expertise and what you're about to experience will prove you don't have the strength either," He says before setting off towards Kotsu who prepares his defense when suddenly Gerald grabs onto the saber with both hands pulling in different directions and the saber splits into two.

Kotsu remains calm. 'Another ability. Is this the power of the green electricity? No… the green electricity seemed to be what makes up the blade. This is something else' he thinks blocking Gerald's first strike jumping over the second strike, however right as he leaves the ground Gerald's saber disappears, and Gerald kicks at him and Kotsu can't do much being midair and he tumbles backwards. He notes that Gerald's second blade is gone. 'It's gone again… Is he hiding it? No… there'd be no point as I've already seen it' Kotsu shoots off with the help of his boosters again.

"Gerald-san! I won't lose no matter what you say to me!" He declares before swinging his fork into a stabbing attack setting his feet down and Gerald blocks it with his blade, when Kotsu fires the boosters again as an attack, however Gerald sees it coming this time, ducking under and attacking from underneath with a second blade he's made once more. Kotsu jumps making his boosters fire him into the air. Gerald just smirks up at him.

"You think you're fit to be boss by simply 'never giving up'!? What a foolish childishness you possess. Many people could benefit greatly from having that! But NOT a candidate for boss!" He yells, pointing one of his batons at the ground as it widens into a thruster much like Kotsu's fork shooting him into the air as well. The two clash in midair, with neither giving in, but it's clear that Gerald has the upper hand, his batons disappearing and reappearing seemingly at random and Kotsu is having a hard time keeping up.

Kotsu grits his teeth blocking another of Gerald's attacks with the fork spikes. He breaks the blade of Gerald's weapon again, spinning around with a hard kick. "Gerald-san… You've got me all wrong…" He says as Gerald is about to strike him again.

"All wrong!? I think not! You're just a child who wishes he can be something more than he can become otherwise and you know I am right!" He yells and Kotsu can almost feel his heart shatter. Right after the flame on his forehead bursts a little and he gives Gerald another hard kick, sending the man flying to the ground.

Reborn can see a primal look in Kotsu's eyes as he sees Gerald approach the ground. The young boy gets his fork in position shooting at the ground using the last of his flame as boost from his fork. "KOTSU! STOP!" THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"Gerald-san! Fighting you right here I've realized something!" Kotsu yells coming down at a quite impressive speed. "You're wrong! Becoming boss…!" He yells smashing into the ground before Gerald can recover from hitting the ground and a giant cloud of dust shoots up. It slowly disappears with Kotsu standing his fork imbedded into the ground right next to Gerald's head. It slowly gets smaller again as Kotsu's flame disappears. "Becoming boss… is all I have…" he says slowly almost crying and Gerald is quite surprised to see the tears forming in his eyes. Kotsu grabs his fork and stands up straight. "It's all I have going for me at this point… and you know… I don't really mind it too much. For my whole life… I've always just been 'Ren's little brother' or… 'Just Kotsu'. I've never a person people can look at and say 'that guy. He has something going for him'. A-and as much as I complain about… Cotton's shenanigans and… Tsugemora's clinginess… Reborn's torturous training… and all the other crazy things that happen to me… I feel like it's all something meant for me. All these people I've met including you Gerald… I've met BECAUSE I have been chosen to be a boss candidate," he says holding his hand forward and Gerald takes it, utterly stunned at the statement.

"You cannot be serious, boy! There must be SOMETHING you've dreamed of. You're but a child still!"

Kotsu just shakes his head. "I've… never really had the creativity to come up with a future plan. The only goal I ever set myself… is that I would help others in my occupation…" He says with a shy laughter and everyone awws at Kotsu causing him to finally notice that they're being watched, leading his cheeks to flush thoroughly. "Y-you didn't hear that!" He yells trying to hide himself as much as possible.

Gerald nods contently. "I see, boy. You have a good heart it would seem. But I would start making other plans quite soon… because you… will not become boss," He says before going back towards the house.

"W-what…?" Kotsu asks before he's assaulted by Tsugemora.

"Nii-san! That was so awesome!" He yells and Kotsu laughs a little.

"Yeah… but I could feel that… after he started using that duplication method on his swords… he started holding back… I didn't really stand a chance…" He says looking after the man, who's getting an earful from Kotsu's mom telling him how irresponsible that was and so on, much to Gerald's surprise and he looks pretty uncomfortable.

"Sorry for… ruining your birthday with that Tsugemora… I… didn't mean to end up in a fight with your dad…"

However Tsugemora's eyes sparkle. "What're you TALKING about Nii-san!? That was the most awesome birthday present EVER! Seeing the two most amazing people I know fight!? It was CRAZY!" He yells and Kotsu gets up. All his friend's join him in a big circle with Rinoka staying behind everyone, still wanting to be included.

"That was amazing Kotsu-kun! Just like when you fought that Geraldino guy!" Fumie says clapping him on his back.

"Still lil' bro! You gotta be careful with those unfamiliar movements," Ren assures and Kotsu chuckles almost happily.

"Yeah… I'll be sure to take it easy…"

Everyone heads back inside to finish up the party with the exception of Rinoka. Kotsu quickly realizes that she was NOT used to seeing such crazy things happen. "Um… so… w-what did you think…?" He asks and Rinoka almost shakes visibly.

"T-that l-looked r-r-really dangerous K-Kotsu-san…" She manages to get out.

"Yeah… It's um… much less dangerous than it looks… this… game," He says almost as if he's trying to convince HIMSELF that it's a game.

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-you w-w-wwwere r-really c-c-coo-…" She tries before blushing and running away back into the house.

"Was that a… compliment…?" He asks and Reborn walks up hitting him over the head seemingly without reason. "W-why'd you do that!?"

"Next time you decide to make such a risky move… don't. If that was a real fight, even if you went to actually hit him… you'd be dead," He says and Kotsu sighs a little.

"Well… I… um… sorry… Aren't you gonna comment on what I said!?" He says referring to his little speech.

"That's none of my business. You really are Klutsu," He says also leaving him. He looks around the garden realizing he and Gerald made quite a mess with throwing around all those attacks. Well it was mostly him actually… Gerald's style didn't really make a mess at all…

 **-NII-**

After everyone's cleaned up everything and gone home after saying some quick goodbyes, Tsugemora stands outside along with Gerald ready to leave, though sadly it seems Geraldino… will NOT be joining them. "Thank you so much for hosting my birthday party miss Niruo-sama," Tsugemora says bowing and Kotsu had briefly forgotten that they were celebrating in the midst of everything.

His mom just kindly smiles. "Oh don't you worry dear. I'd be happy to do it again next year,"

"I-I would like that very much miss Niruo-sama," He says before looking to Nii-san. "And Nii-san. I'm really sorry! But I will have to leave for a little while. I want to spend some time with my dad. So I'll be staying with him while he's in Japan," he says and Kotsu just smiles.

"Well… that's fine. I never asked you to watch over me ALL the time after all. I'll just… see you when you get back," He says holding out his fist and Tsugemora gets almost a little shy bumping it.

"So coooool…" He says as he walks away with Gerald.

"I guess… I guess it'll be… different without Tsugemora around," he says before going back in feeling quite a strange sensation of hot and cold at the same time. He looks in the livingroom seeing Geraldino coldly staring at Cotton, currently held by Jute, who's glaring right back almost emitting a heat of some kind.

"Hey you little twerp. Apologize!" Geraldino demands and Cotton whimpers a little. Kotsu looks on the table seeing the drawing Geraldino made, with clear signs of Cotton having drawn all over it.

"Cotton-heika will NOT apologize!" She cries and Geraldino appears to want to strangle the little girl, probably explaining why jute is holding her.

"Now now you two. Stop arguing. We can solve this civilly right?"

"Screw that! That little twig ruined my drawing!" He yells and Kotsu is once more reminded of a child instead of a large strong young man. However their little argument is interrupted when Kotsu's mom grabs Geraldino by the cheek pulling him away.

"Now you behave Geraldino. I will not have you arguing while you're under my roof," She demands and Geraldino tries getting free but she has a surprisingly strong grip.

"H-hey! Let me go dammit!" he tries to no avail and Kotsu gets a little sweatdrop.

"I guess… this is ALSO different,"


	22. An endless run

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 22: An endless run**

Kotsu's sitting in the livingroom doing some insane homework Reborn had given him, just waiting for the tiniest excuse to stop doing it. Since it's insanely hard. Something that does not help is the fact that right beside him is none other than Geraldino sitting drawing peacefully. He really seems to LOVE doing that. He's been living there for almost a week and aside from doing little tasks for Kotsu's mother, since he doesn't want to incur her wrath, he's been doing nothing but draw all day long. And he certainly hasn't improved… Kotsu still can't tell if he's drawn a fish, a cloud or some other animal.

Meanwhile Jute is out buying groceries along with Cotton and Kotsu's mom as he seems to be the responsible of the two unlike Geraldino.

However Kotsu's prayers for a distraction are heard! The door to the house opens.

"I'm Hooome…!" Ren yells a little halfheartedly from the entrance and Kotsu's quite sure he's never sounded as halfhearted as now.

The boy quickly joins his brother in the hallway. "Ren… what's the matter…?" He asks and Ren just attempts to laugh it off.

"Oh it's nothing lil' bro! Just…" He holds up his favorite pair of sports shoes which he uses for his runs and his dancing and P.E. and so on. They're ruined. The sole has literally detached from the rest. He really IS a sports freak! "Kinda ruined them during P.E. today… so I'm a little… sad you know… they're the ones I got from you for my birthday after all," He says smiling, truly grateful for having gotten them.

"That… that's alright Ren… It's not your fault they broke… I should've bought some that could withstand so much use. I know how much you love working out after all," Kotsu says laughing a little and Ren joins knowing how much he exercises.

Reborn comes out into the hallway seeing the two, before glaring at Kotsu. "You done with your homework?" He asks and Kotsu freezes.

"N-not yet! Just… wanted to see what was wrong with Ren!"

Reborn raises a curious eyebrow. "And what IS the matter with Ren?"

Ren shows the hitman his shoes. "Kinda broke them…" He says in the depressed tone of voice even Reborn finds unnatural.

He walks up grabbing them. "Give me 15 minutes and I'll fix them up for you," He says going back into his room and Ren's eyes almost sparkle.

"Thank you SO much mister Reborn!"

 **-NII-**

Reborn comes out of the livingroom again with Ren's shoes. They're looking brand new and almost sparkle. "There. I reinforced them with Leon's string. There's not a single chance that they'll ever break from repeated use now," He says holding them out for Ren to take but instead Ren just hugs him. Not something Reborn tries every day.

"Thanks a TON mister Reborn! I'll take them for a test drive RIGHT now!" He says grabbing them and running outside to try them out. He quickly sets off. "They feel amazing mister Reborn!" He yells after them as he disappears around a corner.

Kotsu can't help but smile, seeing him happy again. He might be like that all the time, but it's much more meaningful when he comes back from a little trip of sadness. He now doesn't feel as terrible about going back to doing his 'homework'.

Geraldino just looks out the window at the young boy. "Geez. That guy sure loves using his body. Does he even KNOW how to sit still for more than 10 minutes?" he asks and Reborn sits down across from the two.

"Not sure. Takes quite a miracle for it to happen after all."

However about five minutes after Ren left Kotsu hears something outside. A feint voice through the glass door. "lil' bro…" It says. Kotsu goes to check what's happening. However when he gets outside… no one's there… curious. He's about to go back inside when it calls out again. "Lil' bro!" It yells. The only one who calls him that is Ren. He hears that it's coming from the street. He runs out the gate to see. After looking around a little Ren comes running, surprisingly fast. "Lil' bro! Help!" He yells sprinting straight past him the panic clear in his voice.

"What's wro-" Kotsu tries but Ren sprints around the corner coming out on the other side a little while later.

"I can't stop!" He yells panicked and Kotsu's eyes go wide.

Ren comes back around. "What do you mean!?"

Another round. "I just CAN'T stop running! It's like the shoes are…" He disappears. "POSSESED!" He finishes on the next lap.

Kotsu runs back inside and knocks frantically on Reborn's door with Geraldino looking quite curiously at his panic. "REBORN! What did you do to Ren's shoes!?" He yells and Reborn comes out looking quite angry.

"I laced them with Leon's fibers so they won't wear out. Why?"

"He says he can't stop running!"

Reborn for once seems surprised. "Hm. Strange. Even if he DID have a sun flame, he'd run out quite fast…" He says going outside where Ren is still circling the house. "Ren! Go straight! Head downtown! Run as FAST as you can. Wear yourself out," He commands and Ren just nods trying to speed up. As he does so he now finds that he's once more unable to slow down from THIS speed too.

"Mister Reborn! This is weird!" He yells disappearing down the street. Reborn tsks.

"What the hell…?" He says and Leon transforms into a biker helmet. Reborn heads behind the house and suddenly he comes out riding a large bike, grabbing Kotsu in the passing speed. Geraldino comes out with an angry look.

"HEY! That's my bike!" He yells but sees that Reborn is on it and blushes from how cool he looks. "Oh… um… Have a good trip Reborn-senpai!" He yells in an almost girlish tone.

Kotsu looks back before shaking off how weird that was. "What's going on Reborn!? This is crazy! Why can't he stop!?"

"To make them so incredibly durable I used special thread made from Leon's body. Much like your fork it has special properties. I don't know why this means he can't stop running…" He says as they speed after his brother Kotsu being given an extra helmet for safety.

 **-NII-**

They find him downtown sprinting away like there's no tomorrow. He looks really panicked for once, but that's understandable. He's not really feeling tired yet, but can't run any faster if he tried. He's also running too fast to try any narrow corners since he might crash straight into a wall. He looks back hearing the bike rev. Reborn drives up next to him. How on earth is it that he needs a motorcycle to keep up with him!? "Mister Reborn!" He tries and Reborn looks to him.

"Alright Ren. Listen up. It's your shoes doing this. Whatever you do. Do NOT panic. You'll only accelerate," He tries but Ren looks ahead seeing a busy road in front of them, naturally causing a person who can't stop themselves to panic immensely and he feels his body starting to move faster than he's ever even SEEN someone run. He must be running about 30 kilometers an hour. Almost the speed limit in cities! He's forced to turn into the heavy traffic running along the car lanes running in between the cars. Reborn grits his teeth and Kotsu is panicking.

"Reborn! What do we do!? There're too many cars!"

Reborn grits his teeth knowing that Ren is scared out of his mind. "No such thing! I see a completely car-free lane!" He yells revving up before speeding down the sidewalk making sure to avoid people.

"Reborn! It's a sideWALK!" Kotsu complains.

"And it's your big brother overtaking cars on foot up there! The more he's running in traffic the more panicked he'll get and the faster he'll go,"

"T-there has to be a limit to how fast he can go! RIGHT?!"

"We're talking about Ren here. Do YOU think there's a limit to his energy?"

Kotsu sees his point. He can't even remember the last time Ren ran out of energy. He trains ALL the time. If he's not he's probably eating, sleeping, showering or doing homework. It's almost like it's his way of relaxing. "True… then… what do we do?"

Reborn smirks and revs up even more setting off breaking the speed limit to catch up to Ren who's gotten quite far ahead now.

"M-Mister Reborn! I-It's not working!" Ren tries, suggesting he doesn't even know he's panicking, which is arguably even worse than knowing he's panicking.

"R-Ren! C-can you get off the road!?" Kotsu tries and Ren looks ahead seeing the exit to Namimori coming up.

"M-Maybe I can run into the forest? B-but that's even more dangerous!" He says now indecisive which makes things ten times worse.

He speeds up even more and outruns Reborn's motorcycle. "R-Reborn! What do we do!? This is so bad!"

"I can only see one solution. Let you handle it," He says stopping in that way you see in movies where he turns the bike 90 degrees sliding to a halt, along the sidewalk coming to a quick halt.

"L-let ME handle it...!?" Kotsu says confused.

Meanwhile Ren has gotten into the large forest at the edge of Namimori trying to stop himself from crashing into any trees and rocks and so on. "This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!" He keeps repeating to himself as he swiftly avoids them all. After going for just a little bit he hears someone screaming from behind him.

"WRROOOOOAAAAHH!" Kotsu yells now in his dying will form, his clothes gone once more. "I WILL STOP REN WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells overtaking him after a little more, his legs glowing yellow. He gets past him and gets in front as Ren nears a cliff. He grabs hold of him, hugging him, forcing his feet into the ground to stop him. However he only slows down a little bit. "NOT! ENOUGH! POWER!" He yells gritting his teeth so hard they might crack.

However Ren sees the cliff coming up, and looks down at Kotsu who's in front of him. 'I-If we keep going… Kotsu will fall!' He thinks before he suddenly feels the force driving him to run disappear letting him back in control and he falls forward landing on Kotsu and the two of them slide along the ground until they finally stop right on the edge of the cliff. Both of them get up screaming off the top of their lungs. Kotsu screaming in success and Ren in relief. Kotsu's flame disappears and he returns to normal looking around.

"D-did I do it…?" He asks and sees Ren who's crying. "R-Ren… what's-" he starts but is interrupted as Ren suddenly hugs him, tears rolling down his face.

"I-I'm so sorry Kotsu! Y-you almost fell off a cliff because of me… I-I would've never forgiven myself for that… I'm sorry… t-that's the ONE thing I hate more than violence… is losing you!" He yells falling to his knees in Kotsu's arms, the little brother not used to seeing his big brother crying.

He tries his best to comfort the blonde by hugging him back. "I'm… really happy to hear that Ren… I-I'd never want to lose you either," He says and the two keep hugging until Ren stops crying whipping all the tears away as he gets up.

"W-well I think that's enough running for me for just a little while… I-I'm pretty exhausted," He says laughing a bit and Kotsu joins in.

"Y-yeah… it's been a while since you were completely exhausted huh…?" The two stand there laughing until a strong blow of wind comes from the cliff making Kotsu realize his state of clothes.

Reborn comes through the woods seeing the two stand there and smirks. "So… you stopped him just in time," He says and Ren sees him, swiftly taking off his shoes and handing them to him.

"Mister Reborn! Fix them please! I'd rather they be broken than… like this,"

Reborn just pushes them back refusing to take them. He lets on his classic smirk. "Since you're calm now, you can wear them without trouble. Just don't panic and if you do… just think of what you thought when you stopped," He says turning around going back to his bike. "See you at home,"

At that moment Kotsu realized something. He had to walk home… in his boxers. He was just glad Ren was there to walk with him. "Well Ren… L-let's go home too," He says and Ren nods.

"Yup. I need a shower!" The two laugh a little as they begin their walk home.

 **-NII-**

Reborn walks through the quiet woods, when he suddenly hears a noise coming from behind him and spins on his heel swinging a kick at the person thinking it's an assassin. He misses as the intended target jumps back and leans against a tree. "You really haven't lost your touch Reborn-san," A male voice says.

Reborn just looks at him. "What do you want?"

"I was just checking in to see what your plans are with that kid. I can certainly see his potential… but make sure he's trained properly,"

"YOU are telling ME how to train someone?" The boy laughs.

"Well I AM, at this moment at least, the one most suited to be the next leader of the Vongola. So make sure he can surpass the example I'll set for him,"

Reborn smirks. "And what level is that?"

The boy smirks as well fishing out a weapon from his pocket. "Why don't I show you?" It lights up with an deep orange flame. It appears to be a katar with two curved spikes.

"I'll pass. I can tell just from that how serious you are," Reborn says before once more spinning on his heel once more to leave.

"Very well… I'll see you again soon Reborn-san," He says before jumping into the tree disappearing from sight.

"Weirdo,"


	23. The ultimate camping trip?

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 23: The ultimate camping trip?**

Kotsu, Ren and Fumie walk to school on the very important morning of school. The morning where they all move up a grade! Ren becoming a third year and Kotsu and Fumie both going to second year. Kotsu looks very uncomfortable.

"What's the matter lil' bro?" Ren asks with a tilted head. He's still wearing the shoes Reborn fixed up for him.

Kotsu gets a little annoyed, almost visibly shaking. "What do you mean 'What's the matter'!? I thought I only had to deal with Reborn at HOME!" he says pointing behind him where Reborn is walking casually.

The second after he finishes that statement he's laying facefirst in the ground. "That sounded very disrespectful. I can hear you, you know?" Reborn says and Fumie giggles a bit.

"You know… I like your home tutor. He's really cool! AND he gave you that fork you saved me with," She argues and Kotsu just sighs, knowing that Reborn has been forcing him to walk around with that fork ever since he used it in his fight with Gerald, even going so far as to give it to him if he forgets it by going to his school personally handing it over. It's gotten Kotsu a lot of strange looks as most bentos are eaten with chopsticks so the fact that Kotsu has a fork is very weird.

"By the way Kotsu… there've been a few changes since your first year," He says and Kotsu gulps knowing that that can mean only a single… solitary… thing… Namimori middle school… has been turned into a mafia middle school! Probably not that… but at least for him it'd be something similar. "And I also have a little thing planned. Nothing major. Don't worry. I know you're very good at that," He says letting on a little smirk and both Ren and Fumie snicker a little, much to Kotsu's annoyance, but it's not like he can just run to school to avoid them.

 **-NII-**

The little group arrive at the school and there's a LOT that's different from before. But from the looks of it it's only temporary. The large platform used for announcements has been pulled out and set up and it looks like all the students have already gathered around. They all go join the group, people letting them through thanks to Ren being so popular. Their principal comes up to stand at the podium to talk. He clears his throat into the mic making the students quiet down.

"Alright everyone. We have a few announcements to make. First of all that you've all moved up a grade! Congratulations! As such your new classes have been made with utmost care! With the help of one of the school's oldest friends!" He says queuing that person to come forth.

Kotsu facepalms as hard as he can, seeing Reborn up there wearing a graduation cap and a long beard pulling it off surprisingly well. "Ho ho ho. Thank you dear principal. Yes indeed. I have been making your new classes making sure you're in the best possible class," He says in an old man's voice, and everyone cheers.

"Yes indeed. And it's true you have a few more announcements correct?"

Reborn nods. "Correct principal. The first is the newly hired teacher who'll be here for a short while. He will be teaching P.E. as well as English. Please step forward," He says and at this moment both Ren, Fumie and Kotsu are a bit taken aback. However they're not alone as everyone's a bit taken aback by the appearance of this new teacher.

The new teacher smirks. "Yo! I hope you're not thinking of doing any asskissing! Cause I HATE wimps!" He says sending a chill down everyone's spine. "But… I'll definitely whip you guys into shape! That's for sure!" He yells and Kotsu is in total disbelief of who he's looking at. Geraldino is going to teach at his school!?

The other students are a little suspicious of him, simply judging from his appearance. "I-is he really suited to be a teacher…?" "Yeah… he looks like he could be in a gang!" Some boys argue and the girls just shake their head.

"But he looks so cool!" "Yeah. I bet he's really strong," "Maybe he has a soft inside,"

Reborn clears his throat making everyone shut up. Even faster than when the principal did it. "I can definitely recommend Geraldino as a teacher. He is very talented in his subjects. Anyway! The big announcement and the true reason you are all gathered here is this!" He says pushing a little remote he's holding making a large banner fall behind him. It's big! It's extravagant! It has TONS of paint used to make it! And to Kotsu it sounds like an absolute hell, knowing that it was made by Reborn.

The banner has a large picture of Namimori middle school with a big flag stuck to the top with a wood-cabin on it. Around it are happy little students wearing explorer's hats and above a big banner which reads: 'Super exciting trip of epic proportions! The Camping trip to unite everyone! Bringing together the new and old! We invite you to join us!' And everyone stays quiet for a little while.

"I see you're not that seemingly excited. Then how about this. This will be a two week long camping trip to a resort just outside Tokyo! There will be no education involved! Simply teambuilding! And at the end of each and every day you will have a lot of time to fool around in the city of Tokyo. Each of you will be given a pass to the metro. The only condition is the return time. How about now!?" Reborn says and now everyone's on board cheering their little hearts out. Understandable. Normally a camping trip will involve learning and going to museums of sorts and everything like that, but of course not when it's REBORN making it!

"Indeed! This trip was proposed by our dear friend here as a way for people to form relation with others and it would be a good way to start off the new school year! Naturally we all thought it would be a great idea,"

Ren is ecstatic about the very idea and is clapping and laughing like he always does. "Woah! This sounds like a lot of fun eh lil' bro? …? Lil' bro…?" he says confused when Kotsu doesn't respond. He looks to see where he's gone and upon looking down Kotsu has gently laid himself onto the ground and died. Why must this always happen to him? Not only is Geraldino going to be teaching at his school, but now he has to go on a two-week trip Reborn's planned? That's just… not fair. "You alright there lil' bro!?" Ren asks with a smile seeing that he's just depressed.

"Noooooo… I wanna die…" He says and Ren just pulls him onto his feet.

"No worries Lil' bro! You can be in MY group if you want!"

However the second the sentence finishes a certain white-haired bodyguard comes and smashes them both with a full-frontal tackle. "NIIIII-SAAAAAANN!" Tsugemora yells almost crying tears of joy not having seen him for a while thanks to his birthday with his family.

"T-Tsugemora!? W-what're YOU doing here!?" Kotsu says remembering how difficult Tsugemora had it with getting into the school thanks to Ren's homeroom teacher. However he answers his own question seeing Tsugemora's school uniform. "W-wait! YOU go to our school now!?"

Tsugemora jumps back doing honors. "Indeed Nii-san! And I'm REALLY looking forward to this camping trip. It'll be amazing!" He says almost trembling with excitement, which Kotsu can understand but DEFINITELY not stand by. To Tsugemora getting to spend two weeks in his company would be heavenly, but to Kotsu getting to spend two weeks in Reborn's camping trip is NOT advisable.

"Y-yeah… It'll be… juuuuust greeeat…" Kotsu says before Reborn once more takes over.

"Now today will be spent to prepare for this trip. All your parents have been sent a letter informing them of the trip. Your teachers know what needs to be done," he says and walks off the podium.

After the principal gives out the remaining congratulatory speeches that come with the start of the year, everyone disperses to their classrooms, after quickly checking who's in their new class. Kotsu sees both Fumie and Rinoka in his class, which pretty much WERE the only two people his own age he knows at this school.

 **-NII-**

After a lesson discussing the curfews and general rules such as no alcohol and everything most of them already knew as well as being told if their class is in charge of anything. Seems not luckily. Class is dismissed and Kotsu hears someone running to the door with a notebook in hand. He quickly looks around for who's missing seeing that the only one not there is Rinoka. He quickly heads out to the hall seeing her run down the stairs to go outside. He somehow notes little water drops on the floor, not sure how he they even caught his eye. Was she… crying? This revelation causes him to bolt after her.

"R-Rinoka!?" He yells after her not hearing a response. After going down he doesn't have sight of her. Think Kotsu. Think… THE BUSH! From valentine. She was back there crying. Maybe it's her safe spot!

After going there he first off wonders how on earth he managed to jump over that thing without getting cut all over. He looks behind it and sure enough sees Rinoka sitting and sobbing quietly with a notebook tucked at her chest, with loads of loose papers inside it. "H-hey…" he slowly says causing her to jump and try to dry her tears.

"K-K-Kotsu-san…!" She yelps almost trying to make distance between them without moving.

"Um… what's wrong?" He says sitting down beside her. She flinches a little sitting completely still as if thinking Kotsu can't see her if she doesn't move.

"I-I-It's… n-n-nothing…" She says trying her hardest not to break down. "B-but I… I can't… I can't come on the trip… I-it'll be so… e-empty w-without school for two weeks," She manages to get out and Kotsu is about to put a friendly hand on her shoulder, but given how jumpy she is when she is simply TALKING to other people that's probably not the brightest idea.

"Well um… why can't you come… it's for the whole school!" he argues trying to cheer her up.

However she just shakes her head. "I-I know… b-but my dad… h-he won't let me go… a-and he needs me at home…" She says seeming to get even sadder at that fact.

"Rinoka I-" Kotsu starts about to try and tell that everything will be alright when suddenly he feels a strong hand grab his shoulder and pull him away. It's Reborn.

"If you want to have a quiet place to be romantic find a bathroom," He says and Kotsu blushes.

"that's not-" However once Reborn interrupts him by tossing him into the ground.

"Why're you crying?" He asks Rinoka who seems a thousand times more intimidated by Reborn's figure.

"T-th-th-t-t-that's…" She starts but can't get the words out.

"S-she says it's because of her dad not letting her," Kotsu says and Reborn gently pokes his head into the ground again with his foot.

"I see. There's no issue then. This isn't a voluntary thing. It's mandatory. I will be having a talk with your dad. I will need to go to your house anyway," He says making them both wonder as to why. "Now run along to class," He says, the bell ringing right after.

 **-NII-**

The rest of the school day goes on with the teachers explaining what exactly they will be doing as teambuilding exercises. As Kotsu exits school ground he prepares for Tsugemora's assault, but quickly remembers that Tsugemora is INSIDE school grounds now. He sees the young boy come towards him along with Ren, Reishiro and Fumie.

As the little group of five walk home together Rinoka slowly makes her way back home as well. "mind if I join you?" Reborn says from right beside her and Rinoka jumps away from the tall brooding man.

"Y-you!?" She yelps out and Reborn just shrugs.

"Yeah. I'm going to have a little talk with your dad if what you said was true. This is an important fieldtrip. It could end up defining your future," He says and Rinoka just taps her fingers together nervously.

"B-b-but… i-it's okay mister… I-I already k-know w-what I… wanna do… I-I'm going to become a maid… o-or m-maybe something w-with animals…" She says nervously, not used to talking about her future with people she doesn't really know, but this man has a certain aura about him that tells her that she can trust him.

"I see. I'm not going to say that becoming a maid is a bad idea, but you need to think higher of yourself. You can do MUCH more than just clean,"

After a few moments of silence they reach Rinoka's house and she gently locks herself in making as little sound as possible. "I-I'm home f-father…" she says shyly and hears a grunt from the livingroom.

"Finally. We gotta talk. I got a letter from your school telling me about some dumb CAMPING TRIP. Is that right?" A begruntled old man says. He's sitting on a couch with a coffee cup in hand watching TV and Reborn steps in along with Rinoka who tries getting Reborn to leave quietly without causing a scene.

"T-that's right father… t-t-the teachers s-say it's a… a good opportunity t-to make friends a-and-" She starts but he interrupts her.

"Absolutely not. You've never been good at making friends. What's a few weeks at some camp going to change? Besides I need you here. Who ELSE is going to clean and cook?" He asks like it's the most natural thing in the world. Rinoka is about to answer when Reborn walks over sitting on the couch next to him. "Who the hell are you!? And what're you doing in MY house without MY approval!?" Rinoka's father says already looking like he's about to attack Reborn.

However the hitman glares the ugly man down with his meanest stare. "I'm the guy who arranged this fieldtrip. And EVERYONE, and when I say everyone I mean everyone, who's capable of coming on this fieldtrip WILL be participating,"

"That's up for me to decide if my daughter NEEDS such a trip," His dad says grabbing at Reborn's collar, the instant he does so finds himself in a tight grapple lock.

"As I was saying. Everyone. So to answer your question. It will do wonders for her, and the one who'll be cooking and cleaning will be YOU," He says before letting him go.

"Who the HELL do you think you are!? Coming into MY house to take away MY daughter!? I'm PAYING you for this fieldtrip if she goes! I will not have it,"

"here's the thing you don't seem to understand mister. Your daughter is not JUST a student and maid. She's a lot more. This fieldtrip NEEDS her to be there," He says and after another denial he sighs almost angrily. "Alright. How about this then? Either Rinoka shows up tomorrow at campus with her things, ready to leave… OR… I come here and get her with or without your consent,"

"that's a crime and you know it! You're CRAZY!" Her father says and Reborn gets up, walking towards the exit. He hands Rinoka an envelope before heading for the door.

"Maybe I am. But at least I care about your child's future," He says before closing the door.


	24. A good start?

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 24: A good start?**

Kotsu and Ren are sitting at home looking at two letters Reborn handed them after coming home from Rinoka's house. "Um… what's this mister Reborn?" Ren asks happy as always.

"It's something very important. Come on! Open it up!" he demands and the two slowly open it up. Inside is a letter addressed to them with a stamp resembling the Vongola insignia.

Kotsu reads his: 'Dear Kotsukiba Niruo or Kotsu as they call you. This is Neo Primo talking. As I'm VERY sure you've already noticed I have chosen you to be my official successor. However I get a feeling that the high council won't be so understanding. Therefore I'm sending you this letter to officially appoint you to my successor. With it follows a sky ring. I know you're a cloud user, so this is mostly a symbolic gesture. Kind regards: Neo Primo' He picks out the ring putting it on his finger. It's a metallic color with a glass case in the middle which has the Vongola insignia inside it.

Ren has gotten a similar letter from Primo. 'Dear Ren Niruo. I, neo primo, hereby appoint you as your little brother's sun guardian. I'm certain you've seen particular dangers approach your little brother. With this sun ring I give you, it is now your job to protect your little brother and fight alongside him and his other guardians. Best of luck: Neo Primo,' He reads grabbing the yellow ring with the gem carved into a three dimensional model of the vongola's insignia. "Sorry whoever you are. But this game isn't really for me," he says laughing putting the ring back. Kotsu looks at the letter.

"Reborn. What's a guardian?"

"Your guardians are the six people who're your closest protectors. They're the people whom you'll have to entrust your life," Kotsu looks at Ren, not knowing what the sun guardian does but he DEFINITELY doesn't feel like putting his life into his brother's hands. At least not when it comes to a fight.

"H-hey Ren… could you um… be nice and… keep that ring. J-just in case you know…" He says and Ren just smile grabbing the ring again.

"Sure. If you say so. Let's see how it fits," he says putting it on. As soon as it's firmly tucked on it suddenly lights up with a sparkling yellow flame and he jumps back. "Woah! WOAH!" he says trying to put it out with his hand but it keeps burning. However after a few tries Ren realizes something. "Oh… it's… not hot… just… comfortably warm… this is a cool trick!" He says moving his hand through the flame.

Reborn steps up for once looking dumbfounded. "H-how? Most people take YEARS to learn how to activate their flame," he says looking curiously at the young boy.

"Well um… I guess that makes me kinda special huh?"

"Well that's enough Ren. Turn it off,"

Ren blinks a little before looking to the flame. "Um… how do I do that?"

Reborn is once more not sure what to say. Usually he has to teach people how to ACTIVATE it. But never how to turn it off again. That usually comes when they no longer focus on activating it. "Nevermind. You two get packing," He simply says and Ren just heads off like it's no big deal that he has a flame on his finger.

Kotsu looks after his older brother. "So… If Ren became one of my 'guardians' then… who're the other five…?" He can't help but wonder as he also approaches his room to pack. However the door of his house opens as he's about to walk up the stairs.

"Nii-san! Reborn-san asked me to come!" Tsugemora yells doing a salute as soon as he sees Kotsu and Reborn comes up to him without a word handing the young student another envelope. Tsugemora almost trembles as he slowly opens it, not being able to blink. "D-d-d-dear Tsugemora Gagliardi… I, Neo Primo, h-hereby appoint you as the thunder guardian of Kotsukiba Niruoooo…" He slowly trails off before suddenly falling backwards passing out from sheer happiness. Kotsu manages to catch him in the nick of time before the young boy shoots up headbutting Kotsu right on the chin without the younger of the two feeling a single thing thanks to pain immunity. "NII-SAN! Pinch me! Am I dreaming!?" He yells and Kotsu slowly sits up rubbing his now sore chin.

"Pinching you wouldn't do anything though…" Kotsu argues and Kotsu's mother comes out of the kitchen to greet Tsugemora.

"Why hello Tsugemora. I hear you go to Kotsu's school now as well. How wonderful. Do have a nice trip and make sure my little darling is safe," She says and Tsugemora salutes as he gets up.

"You can count on me miss Niruo-sama! As the OFFICIAL thunder guardian of Nii-san I promise NO harm will befall him!" He assures and Kotsu's mother jumps a little.

"Oh my… More of that exciting game you are playing. How intriguing," She says clapping her hands in excitement and Kotsu realizes something hearing him say it out loud. Wait a minute… if his guardians are the closest protectors that means… Tsugemora is now going to be a permanent fixture in his life. Oh no… that might end up in disaster… or maybe… just maybe… it'll end up being REALLY amazing.

Kotsu silently prays for the latter as he heads upstairs to pack his clothes and toothbrush and everything, while Tsugemora happily waits downstairs.

 **-NII-**

After packing everything and having a little chat downstairs Kotsu's mother has finished dinner. Cotton sits on the table nom-nom-noming on a rice ball looking at all the suitcases. "What are those things Mortal-kun?" She asks and Kotsu looks back at them.

"We're going to go away for two weeks. A fieldtrip with the school," He explains and Cotton laughs.

"TIAHAHA! Finally Cotton-heika can have her palace to herself!" She yells out and everyone chuckles at her childish innocence. However Jute and Reborn share a quick glance with each other.

"I really hope you boys will have a good time at the camping trip. Do you know what kind of groups will be made?" Kotsu's mother asks and Ren smiles.

"I'll definitely want Lil' bro and Tsugemora on my team. And Reishiro of course," He says and his mother giggles.

"You two have always been quite close. I'm glad to hear you're still friends," She says and the rest of the dinner quietly moves along with some small talk here and there.

 **-NII-**

The next morning Kotsu wakes up from a horrid dream where he was being tortured by Reborn at the camping trip. "Geez… I really hope it'll just be a… normal field trip…" He says to himself getting dressed. He quickly scoffs down some breakfast and after saying goodbye to his mom, Jute and Cotton they're off.

After a quick walk to the school, meeting up with Fumie on the way there're a ton of buses on campus. Seems like it doesn't matter which bus you take so Kotsu decides to go along with Ren, meaning everyone he knows are now in the same bus. Reborn looks around spotting Rinoka, much to his pleasure. Looks like that old man had a little bit of common sense after all. Everyone is quickly seated and most of the students look like they're about to burst with excitement.

Ren sits down next to Reishiro who's blankly staring out the window. "Yo!" Ren says and Reishiro lazily looks back at him.

"Ah! Ren… what're you doing here…?"

"We're going on a fieldtrip. You know that right?"

"Ah! Soka…"

"Now everyone! Please remain orderly while we drive!" One of the teachers say and everyone quiets down slightly, still not able to hold in their excitement.

Kotsu has found a comfortable spot next to Rinoka as it would seem the back corner is occupied by her. "So um… are you excited about… the field trip?" Kotsu asks a little shyly, seeing Rinoka a slight nod before looking to him as if she's about to say something, but she can't get it out. So she just looks out the window fidgeting with something on her finger. "I-It'll be fun… I'm sure of it…" Kotsu tries before realizing that talking isn't really the way to go.

Tsugemora sits alone on the bus swinging his feet, happy to get to spend time with Kotsu, but… He looks to his side where Fumie is sitting blocking his exit to his seat. "Geez… why does it have to be YOU?" He asks with a slight pout.

"Hey! Not nice! I'm your senpai now! So treat me right!"

"Not happening. The only girl I'll treat right is Nii-san's girlfriend! And YOU are NOT his girlfriend," He says crossing his arms.

"You're unbelievable…" Fumie says looking the other way.

 **-NII-**

After a long drive out of Namimori they arrive at their destination. A large resort for everyone right at the edge of Tokyo and everyone scrambles to get their things and put them in their assigned rooms. Kotsu lays down on his bed wondering what exactly he'll be doing here. However it doesn't take long before they all have a meeting in the main hall. "Listen up everyone! Today you're all free to go wherever you please. Just make sure you're back before the curfew," The teacher says and everyone once more split up. Kotsu sees the usual group of Ren and Reishiro along with Fumie and Rinoka approach.

"Hey Lil' bro! Wanna come with us?"

"U-um… sure…" He tries before Ren grabs him and pulls him along. He's quite surprised to see Rinoka there with them too. Seems she's trying to make new friends as well… even if those friends are completely crazy… as the little group of five approach the entrance Kotsu notes Tsugemora closely following behind like some kind of creepy stalker.

"Um… Tsugemora… you can… just come join us if you want…" Kotsu says and the little group look back at the bodyguard who gets a little flustered.

"Y-yes Nii-san," He says almost annoyed he got caught. He glares at Ren who just smiles seeing him join them.

The group get on the metro chatting. Reishiro looks almost confused that Ren is talking to so many people. "Um… Ren… who're all these guys…?"

"Well they're not all guys. Rinoka and Fumie are girls. And this is Tsugemora and my little brother. You've met them before remember,"

"Ah! Sokaaa… Mini-Ren and the Kid…" He says and Tsugemora gets a little grumpy grabbing at Reishiro who doesn't even seem to realize.

"Oi! I'm NOT a kid! I'm Nii-san's bodyguard! He would NEVER have a KID as his bodyguard,"

"Nii-san… you mean Ren… he has a little brother right…?"

However before Tsugemora can end up… attacking the confused boy Fumie grabs Tsugemora's ear. "Don't be a jerk Tsugemora-kun," he says pulling him away and the young bodyguard doesn't exactly react but she's still strong enough to pull him away.

"Hey! Stop that. It's annoying!" He tries but she just ignores him.

Ren notes the shy girl who's just been standing at the side being quiet. "I think those two seem pretty chummy eh Rinoka?" He asks her referring to Fumie and Tsugemora who're fighting amongst themselves.

"C-chummy? I-I-I-I d-don't k-know much about that…" She says hugging her notepad which she's still carrying. Almost like she's afraid Ren will see its content.

"You don't…? I thought girls were good at spotting these kinds of things," He says confused and Reishiro is suddenly behind Rinoka without her noticing. Quite odd seeing how big her personal space is.

"What's with those drawings you have…? It's like… boys… doing… weird stuff…" He says before looking at Ren. "We aren't going to do that right Ren…?"

Rinoka blushes harder than she ever has before, checking and double checking that her drawings are hidden properly. Which they are. "H-h-how d-did you s-s-see them?!" She desperately tries making some distance attaching a bit of attention, much to her own dismay.

Reishiro tilts his head in confusion. "What do you mean…? they're right there…"

"I think those drawings are very private Reishiro," Ren adds in putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Ah! Sokaaa… sorry about invading your privacy. They were just so pretty though…" He adds and Kotsu just laughs nervously seeing how he's all tangled up with these crazy people.

 **-NII-**

The subway arrives at their stop and they all get off Ren stretching happily. "We're here! Tokyo!" He declares looking around like he's looking for the best place to do some exercise.

Reishiro scratches the back of his head. "This doesn't look very different from Namimori… are you sure we're in Tokyo Ren…?"

"Of course! We had that long bus ride here remember!?"

"Ah! Sokaaa…"

Kotsu looks around at all the billboards and pretty lights. Even for a subway station it's quite expansive and colorful. He never imagined you could advertise for SO many things in one place. Tsugemora is instantly in front of him however. "Don't worry Nii-san! I will protect you from any intruders!" He says and Rinoka also seems to be keeping close to Tsugemora.

Fumie sticks close to Ren mostly because this is her chance to get closer to the boy. "hey Ren… mind if I walk close to you like this? People might get ideas…" She says walking right beside him with Reishiro on his opposite side.

Ren just laughs. "People can get whatever ideas they want! Doesn't make them true necessarily right?" He says and Fumie gets a little bummed out as she was hoping he'd at least be a bit flustered, but alas… he is Ren Niruo.

 **-NII-**

After getting to the main station above everything is much more colorful than before. Lots of large glass panels in the ceiling and the sun is shining. "Woooah…" Ren says looking up and Reishiro copies him doing the same blowing his tuft out of his face so he can see better, but it just falls right back in the same place.

"Woah… there's a guy up there…" He says pointing and Ren sees him too for once.

"Yeah… who IS that?" He asks and Kotsu's eyes widen looking up. He pushes everyone out of the way as the person crashes into the ground right next to where Ren would've stood. "Are you okay?" Ren says running up to check on him much to Kotsu's dismay as he's fairly certain that this person CANNOT be friendly. His older brother holds out his ringed finger, which is still burning with his sun flame.

 _"Target acquired,"_ A robotic voice says from the little crater he created before an arm shoots out grabbing at him. Ren pulls back just in time and he steps back, quite afraid of this person now.

"H-Hey now…" He asks and the person stands up not seeming encumbered from falling a great distance. He has short dark purple hair and an almost robotic perfection to his skin. He's also completely naked but doesn't have any private parts to speak of and simply has small lines running over where his muscles are as if to separate them.

 _"Initiate… elimination mode,"_ He says in a robotic voice before his arm transforms into a giant laser canon pointing it to Ren. Specifically at his hand with the ring.

"W-wha…?" Ren starts, panicking a little as he's never seen something like this before.

The boy fires his arm laser, sending a wave of purple flames after Ren, much like the ones Kotsu shoots from his fork. Ren holds out his hands as if to shield Reishiro and Fumie, however the laser flies right over their head. The robotic boy looks seeing Tsugemora using his wire to pull on his arm. _"I sensed no flames from you. However it is clear you are an enemy as well…"_ He says before seeing Tsugemora's green ring as well. _"Indeed… enemy identified,"_ He says before his back splits apart revealing a rocket booster and he shoots off pulling Tsugemora with him.

"Tsugemora!" Kotsu yells everyone frightened as he currently has no way of turning into hyper dying will mode.

Tsugemora suddenly comes hurling into the ground right next to Kotsu and Rinoka the latter tucking at Kotsu for her life. As Tsugemora hits the ground two little pills come rolling out. "Nii-san… Reborn-san gave them to me… they're for you…" He says and Kotsu has no time to think as the boy lands in front of the two of them holding out his hand.

 _"Weak…"_ Kotsu picks up the pills before pushing Rinoka back behind him. The boy fires his laser at max power and it hits him dead on.

"Bro!" Ren yells seeing his brother hit by the laser.

"Why're we yelling…? He's standing right there…" Reishiro says and Ren looks seeing the smoke disappear.

Kotsu is standing in his hyper dying will mode holding his fork out like he just fired the rocket boosters. "You… Attacking while there're innocent people who have nothing to do with this right here. I'll make you pay. So prepare yourself," Everyone looks at Kotsu's calm face especially Rinoka who's standing right behind him.

The boy holds up his other arm and it folds into a sword with a purple glowing edge. _"Boss ring identified. Kotsukiba Niruo. I will destroy you,"_


	25. The OTHER boss candidate

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 25: The OTHER boss candidate**

Kotsu has just blocked a laser from some kind of strange robot, using his fork. He swings the fork over his shoulder getting down into his launch position. He looks back at his classmate and friend Rinoka who's confused and scared. "Get somewhere safe. I'll handle this," He says, but before he can blast off she tugs at his sleeve.

"T-t-t-t-take this… R-R-Reborn-san… h-he g-g-g-gave it to me… b-but I don't know how to… use it…" She says but before Kotsu can grab hold of whatever it is, he suddenly grabs Rinoka shooting himself into the air avoiding the robots laser attack. Rinoka screams off the top of her lungs as they fly up.

"It's alright. I've got you. I won't let him hurt you. I really need you to trust me," He says as the robot comes flying up after the two of them with his own rocket. "Do you…?" Kotsu says and Rinoka slowly nods blushing looking at him. The robot fires another laser when suddenly. "Ren! Catch!" Kotsu lets go of Rinoka and shoots further up leading the robot to follow him.

Rinoka falls and hits a awning bouncing a bit before she falls off. Someone catches her, but it's not Ren. However he comes running looking revealed at her, seeing that she was safe and he seems to recognize the person. "Tsugemora… you got her… thank god… that was scary,"

"Who's Tsugemora…?" The young man says putting down Rinoka. He DOES look an awful lot like him, only older, taller, with black hair and with a more chilled out expression on his face than what they're used to. "Tsugemora… Tsugemora… Tsugemora… he's… Kotsukiba Niruo's thunder guardian right…?" He says holding up a ring identical to Tsugemora's ring.

"Wait… you're NOT Tsugemora!" Ren says horrified. Someone appears from behind the Tsugemora lookalike. This person is a lot older and quite physically fit, with a Mutton chops beard and short brown hair to go with it.

"Faust… I thought we made it VERY clear that messing with the other groups of guardians is strictly forbidden," He says as the boy, apparently named Faust, lets Rinoka go and she quickly runs to Ren's side. Which would normally surprise everyone quite a lot as she's never really talked to Ren, but the way he looks makes her feel safer.

"H-hey! W-what's going on here?" Ren frantically asks when suddenly Faust comes flying straight past them the older man having punched him with quite a tough attack it seems. He flies quite far.

He cracks his wrist and fingers a little. "There. Punishment has been dished out. 'What's going on' is your question? I will answer. I am Riccardo. And from the looks of that ring… YOU are Ren Niruo. The sun guardian of Kotsukiba Niruo. I… am the sun guardian of Ywan. One of the three boss candidates. And the boy fighting your boss candidate… is known as NM-5. Speaking of NM-5…" He says and looks like he's preparing to attack. Ren just shakes his head.

"T-this is crazy! Why would you destroy public property just for your game!?"

"This is no mere game young man. If you truly believed it was a game… you would be able to remain calm at this moment. This is why Ywan was very much against involving an ordinary child in this in-fight… but alas. That stupid Primo…" He says before taking out a little box. He looks up at NM-5 who comes flying down landing in front of him holding Kotsu in one hand. He's completely beaten. He tosses him aside with Ren and Rinoka running to his side to check on him.

 _"Enemy defeated. Objective completed,"_ He says and glances at Riccardo. _"Sun guardian located. Eliminating,"_ He says before shooting forward. Riccardo looks like he's about to attack as well when suddenly someone steps in front of him, looking quite confused.

"Excuse me… what's going on…?" Reishiro asks holding up a hand like he's asking permission to speak. However NM-5 doesn't stop. Right before Reishiro is hit however the attack is blocked.

"Harming my students… I'll bite you to death," Ren's homeroom teacher says angrily, having blocked the attack with his tonfa coming from out of nowhere at all.

"That's enough NM-5. We need you in one piece for the ring conflict. Getting you destroyed by someone who isn't even going to be involved would be pretty bad," Someone entirely different says. Another young boy around Kotsu's age. Around 14 with middle length brown hair and a tattoo on his forehead of two angel wings. He's holding a katar.

Kotsu slowly gets up looking quite banged up but somehow he's already feeling quite a lot better than before somehow. His instincts are telling him that it's somehow connected to Ren. Odd… He looks towards the new arrival. "Hello Kotsukiba Niruo," He says with a confident smirk in his direction. Seems this boy is in charge of NM-5 as he's now stopped his attacks and folded all his weaponry away.

"W-who are you?" Kotsu asks gritting his teeth from pain after his battle with NM-5. He really got beaten up badly during that fight…

"Who am I?" The boy holds up his hand showing Kotsu a ring on it which resembles the one he got from Primo. "I am one of your opposing candidates. Zaccaria's the name,"

"What're you talking about? Primo chose me as the next boss." He tries but Zaccaria just shakes his head.

"How naïve you are. Primo may be the boss, but there're a LOT of people who disagree with him. As such… the external advisor has chosen ME as HIS candidate. Also watch your back. I'm not the only one," He says pointing to Riccardo. "That guy is NOT my guardian. He's your OTHER opponents sun guardian. Your other opponent is named is Ywan and he's not as nice as I am," He says laughing before he starts to leave. The look in his eyes remind Kotsu of someone else he's fought. Geraldino.

Ren looks horrified and looks to Zaccaria. "If THIS is how you play this game… then I won't let Kotsu play it anymore!" He yells and Zaccaria looks back at him, gritting his teeth with disgust.

"If that's really how you feel… then you're a horrible guardian," He says before flinging his white cape as they leave. Faust joins them much to their surprise as Riccardo really seemed to hit him with maximum force but he doesn't even look slightly injured. Ren's homeroom teacher looks to Riccardo angrily.

"Leave this instant. And if something like this happens again… I won't care about whatever's going on over in Italy… I'll find Ywan and I'll bite him to death," He says and Riccardo nods slowly before he also leaves.

"But watch yourselves during this week… Zaccaria's guardians aren't going to follow the rules like us," are his final words.

Kotsu falls to his knees looking horrified at the ground. He was helpless. NM-5 isn't even his opposing candidate, but he wiped the floor with him easily. Why did he even do that? Why would Zaccaria attack them? And most importantly… why the HELL was Kotsu even attempting to become the boss? He's met one of his opponents. And just looking at him… he would've lost in a second. And Riccardo… he looked insanely powerful too… and he ALSO wasn't the candidate. How could he possibly hope to defeat these people? Maybe he should just give up…

 **-NII-**

The police arrive on scene after a few minutes, and Ren tells them what happened. No one believes him of course since the story involves a robot that fought his little brother in the air around the station. His homeroom teacher brings them all back to the resort, where Tsugemora is also already feeling perfectly fine much like Kotsu. However the latter is much less enthusiastic about the whole situation. "Next time I see that NM-5 guy I'll kick his ass for real! He just caught me by surprise!" Tsugemora yells as they exit the subway.

However Ren grabs his shoulders in an almost parental way. "No Tsugemora! This game is DANGEROUS! I won't let you play it anymore!" He says and Tsugemora smacks his hands away.

"Shut your mouth Ren! I KNEW you weren't worthy of being the amazing Nii-san's sun guardian!" He says before they both see Kotsu walking between them.

"It's alright Tsugemora. I've given up on this whole boss thing. I thought it'd be easy with my hyper dying will mode… but I didn't stand a chance. I got beaten and I got beaten BADLY… I'll focus on school…" He says but even Ren can tell that he's really sad and annoyed with himself.

"No one said it'd be easy Klutsu," Reborn says leaning against the entrance.

"Yeah… but no one said it'd be hard either. Can you tell Primo that I'm sorry…?"

Reborn tips his hat down over his eyes going away from him, annoyed. He really wants to just beat him to his senses, but now's not the time for violence. "Yeah. I could do that…"

"Thanks…" Kotsu says going to his room to relax quietly to himself.

Reborn thinks for a moment. "I guess both his opponents don't feel like playing by the rules. What are you thinking Zaccaria? They're just children at this point…" He says to himself before deciding that everyone needs a bodyguard of some sort.

He quickly finds Ren, Rinoka, Fumie and Tsugemora. "You four. What happened at that station… you cannot tell anyone," He says and Ren gets a little upset.

"No way mister Reborn! What happened down there was DANGEROUS! They weren't playing by the rules like Geraldino was! They tried to hurt my little brother!" He yells.

"Quiet Ren. And do as he says. He has more experience than you could ever hope to acquire. Isn't that right infant?" Someone says from behind them all. It's his homeroom teacher.

"That's right Hibari. I'd like to also be his bodyguard for the week if that's alright with you,"

"Sure," Hibari simply says looking at Ren with a strict gaze. Ren looks utterly confused as to what the two are talking about.

"Um… sorry what're you two talking about…?"

"You're coming with me," Hibari simply says walking and Ren doesn't really think he has a choice other than to follow him.

Tsugemora looks angrily after the clueless child. "Why does REN get to go with HIM!? Who's going to train ME!? Whoever it is he'd BETTER be AS amazing as Hibari-san!" He says angrily before he feels a cold gaze hit him from being sending chills down his spine.

"I can assure you that he is maggot…" Geraldino says from right behind him.

Tsugemora gets really scared, thinking that Geraldino will be his trainer however Reborn just clears his throat. "the two of us will be starting your training tomorrow," He says to the young boy who's eyes turn from Geraldino to him filled with an entire galaxy of stars.

"I will be trained by THE Reborn-san!? THAT'S AMAZING!"

"Dismissed Tsugemora. Go rest," He orders and Tsugemora does honors before running off to his own room. "Geraldino. I have an important job for you. I want you to stay with the girls and protect them in case Zaccaria decides to attack again,"

Geraldino looks quite disappointed and annoyed. "Whaaaaaat…? How dull Reborn-senpai," he simply states however he can't NOT do what Reborn tells him too.

Rinoka looks quite frightened at Geraldino while Fumie just smirks almost victoriously. "Ha! Now you're PROTECTING me you… jerk!" She says before hugging Rinoka whom she happens to have gotten a bit closer with ever since Rinoka met Kotsu. "And you hear that Rinoka-chan?! We're going to be sharing a room!"

Rinoka doesn't say anything as she's too shy, but she's quite happy to at least have someone as outgoing and strict as Fumie to keep Geraldino in check.

Reborn walks outside and looks at the sky. "Hm… So that's how you want to play things Zaccaria? An interesting choice… this training might get rough for some of them… but let's see if we can't make it through it… they might be kids Zaccaria. But their potential is WAY higher than anyone elses…" He says with a smirk.


	26. Training begins

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 26: Training begins!**

Kotsu is laying in his bed in the evening after his loss, looking at his two rings. His cloud ring he got from Reborn and his sky ring he got from Primo. Two people who've had a major effect on his life recently. "Why would you choose me… I'm not strong like those other candidates… not even close…" He says clenching his fist angrily at the ceiling hoping it'll help somehow. It doesn't…

In another room of the resort Rinoka is sitting in the room her and Fumie share now. She's looking a little uncomfortable as Geraldino is sitting in the corner on a chair watching her with a kendo sword over his shoulder in case any intruders come. Fumie is sleeping on one of the two beds in the room, looking quite non-cute which is kind of her whole charm. Geraldino gets a little annoyed as he can almost look up Fumie's shirt from how she's laying. He tsks getting up going to the bed and tossing Fumie's blanket back over her making sure she's comfortable and she happily hugs it.

Geraldino tsks. "What an annoying girl…" He says looking over to Rinoka who seems to be drawing. "Aren't you going to sleep soon too? You can't sit up ALL night doing whatever you're doing…" He says only now realizing that he's been watching her for a few hours and he has no idea what she's doing. "What… ARE you doing anyway…?" He asks and Rinoka jumps a little every time he speaks as his voice is quite scary for someone like her.

"I-I-I'm… I'm drawing..." She says trying not to make a lot of noise due to perhaps waking Fumie if she does. Little does she know Fumie would likely sleep through Geraldino fighting an intruder in the room.

Geraldino smirks confidently. 'Heh… so you think you can draw huh? How cute…' He thinks to himself as he sits back down. 'I wonder how it looks… can't be anywhere NEAR what I can do…' He adds thinking he's amazing at drawing. That's what his mother told him when was very young after all. They hanged his drawings on the fridge and everything! He slowly gets up knowing that Rinoka is quite fidgety about people getting too close. He sneaks over to peek over his shoulder. 'Let's see here… tsh! HAHAHA! What the hell's THAT supposed to be!?' He thinks noting the almost blank paper. There're only a few lines so far. However little does he know she just switched papers from having finished one. However Geraldino is not impressed either way. Two hours for a bunch of lines that don't even seem to resemble anything. 'Well it might be a cat… that means she's missing the whiskers…' He thinks predicting her next stroke of the pencil however his eyes go wide. 'WHAT?! What is she doing!? This is all wrong!' she keeps throwing down line after line with almost scary precision not even looking like she's considering reaching for her eraser at any point. It soon starts taking form. It's a person. A boy in a rather… exposed position laying on a bed with his shirt up and such. 'That's… THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! This is like the pictures on the internet! NO ONE can draw like that! This girl… she's something else…' He says looking at Rinoka going from not liking her in the slightest to having immense respect for her in every possible way. When he looks at her Rinoka realizes something's not right and quickly looks over her shoulder and the second Geraldino's frame even vaguely is within her eyesight she jumps in her seat quickly fumbling to hide the embarrassing drawing.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-what're you… what're you doing Geraldino-san!?" She yells her entire body going red and Geraldino just suddenly falls to his knees banging his head into the floor.

"Please teach me young master!" He yells and Rinoka looks almost shocked at his sudden change in attitude.

"W-w-w…" She tries but can't get the words out.

Geraldino raises his head. "Teach me your ways master! TEACH ME HOW TO DRAW LIKE YOU!" He declares and Rinoka has never felt so pressured before in her life.

She only draws as a hobby, she never thought she'd make a profession out of it let alone TEACH others! However she's almost too scared of Geraldino to deny him so she just nods. "O-O-okay G-Geraldino-san… I-I-I'll try…" She says shyly again and Geraldino stands and bows deeply.

"Thank you kindest master…" He says and Rinoka gulps. She's going to teach Geraldino of all people to draw…?

"B-b-b-but i-in return… I… need some advice… please… y-you know how to play that… g-game right…?" She asks poking her fingers together almost frightened to ask.

"I do master. Why do you ask?" Rinoka slowly holds her hand forward revealing the one and only cloud ring in the shape of the Vongola insignia on it. "What?! You were chosen!? By Primo himself?!"

Rinoka slowly nods. "Y-y-yes… R-Reborn came to my house and gave me this letter…" she says fishing out the letter from her notebook which as it turns out is filled with Yaoi-pictures she's draw over the last few years. Geraldino grabs it just to make sure.

"Dear Rinoka. You may not know me, but you know Kotsukiba or Kotsu as you might call him. He needs your help and it's my job to make sure he gets it. I'm giving you the cloud ring. This makes you two bound by destiny and you will be by his side in his toughest battles. It may seem scary, but I think, no, I KNOW you can handle it. You're stronger than you think. Your truly Neo Vongola Primo," He reads and hands it back to her. He then sits on the floor. "I see… what would you like to know then master?"

Rinoka gets off the chair and sits across from him. "I-I want to know what to do…?" she says and Geraldino looks at her ring.

"I see… I can try, but I gotta apologize beforehand. I'm NOT a very good teacher. Never have been, never will be. Don't say I didn't warn you," He says taking out his own blue ring. He puts it on his finger. "So to put it pretty blatantly… you gotta focus your willpower into your ring and the flame will light up like this," He says igniting his blue water-like flame.

"B-but that… that doesn't look like fire… Geraldino-san…" She tries and Geraldino snickers.

"I know… that's what makes me awesome. Now it's primo we're talking about so the likelihood your flame is something OTHER than cloud's pretty low… Now then give it a shot. Light it up," He says and Rinoka closes her eyes and puffs her cheek trying to light her ring up, but naturally it doesn't work.

She exhales heavily. "It didn't work…"

"It'll work! Trust me master! Even for someone as incredible as me it took a long time before I could light up mine properly!" he assures her. "Try again…" She gives it another shot.

 **-NII-**

Meanwhile in another room Ren has been settled in with Hibari. It's quite strange for the young boy, sharing a room with his teacher instead of any of his friends. "Kyoya-sensei… don't tell me YOU play this game too…?" he says sounding almost almost annoyed and Hibari remains quiet a little sitting in a chair reading a book.

"Listen Ren. I've seen you socialize and simply walk around all the time, and this is the first time I've seen you bothered like this,"

Ren is a bit surprised that Hibari pays so close attention to his students. "I just… want my little brother to be safe. And the people he's begun playing with in this new section of the game don't play by the rules. They actually almost hurt us and they would've if you hadn't stepped in,"

"So you believe the game to be unfair? In that case why don't you try to correct it?"

Ren smiles a little laying backwards on his bed. "Nah… it's not my kind of game. It involves fighting and I'm not a fan of fighting. I'm glad my little brother's decided to stop playing it," He says smiling to himself however he suddenly feels Hibari slam his book shut. He stands up silently having quite the scary persona over him. "Um… Kyoya-sensei…?" He suddenly grabs his tonfa's from inside his sleeves where he keeps them and slams one of them down right after Ren.

The young boy manages to react by rolling backwards. "K-Kyoya-sensei!? W-what're you doing?" He tries but Hibari doesn't let up at all just speeding towards him and swinging his tonfas. Ren keeps dodging, which is something that he seems to be good at without a word of his reasoning. He suddenly stops.

"I don't train weaklings who simply abandon their duties like that. Only a true herbivore would do something like that," He says angrily before putting away his tonfas.

"I already said I don't want this duty as 'sun guardian' or whatever," He says holding up his still burning ring.

However Hibari doesn't listen. "Sleep. If that is your attitude then I have nothing to say to you," He says being surprisingly cold. He might seem cruel and intimidating at school but he is actually quite soft. He always helps people in trouble, cleaning the school by himself and everything. But always with the stoic pride of a lion and the attitude of a predator. However now… Ren feels he's a lot different. Purely cold with no hint of the kindness Ren's used to.

He lays back down on his bed. "Did I… say something wrong?" He thinks aloud.

Hibari walks down the hallway meeting the one and only Reborn on the way. However he simply walks straight past him. "Train him Hibari. He'll definitely learn. He's not dumb. In fact looking at his report cards he's one of your best students,"

"I'll do as you say infant, as a favor from one carnivore to another," He says before heading down the hallway.

Reborn looks down the hall to Ren's room. "I know it's a scary thought this 'game' we play Ren… but you've DEFINITELY lost the bigger picture…"

 **-NII-**

The following day the entire class are set into groups to do the teambuilding exercises set up around the resort by Reborn during the night. However as Kotsu expected his group is quite rigged due to containing not just Ren and Tsugemora, but also Rinoka, Reishiro and Fumie, summing up to everyone he knows at school. Except Reishiro… he doesn't know much about him…

Everyone's quickly set to task with Kotsu being put in charge of his group, but still being quite depressed out his loss against NM-5 he quickly denies taking charge. In spite of more than half his group being assigned guardians, though he doesn't know about Rinoka yet. Luckily for him Ren takes charge and the group quickly solves the problems put in front of them with only Tsugemora complaining about Ren being in charge. Though luckily for Ren Kotsu silences him since he reeeeeally doesn't feel like dealing with Tsugemora right now.

 **-NII-**

After the day of doing teambuilding and every one of Kotsu's schoolmates having a great time. Kotsu sits in his room still sulking by now having come full circle and thinking that it's pathetic that he's still sulking about it. At this point he's already decided to give up which also annoys him. However suddenly his door bursts open and he thinks he's under attack, however he suddenly sees Fumie walking in looking quite furious. "W-what's the matter Fumie?" He says giving her a weak smile and she stomps over grabbing his hand pulling him with her.

"You and I are going to go on a date! RIGHT NOW!" She says quite furious making Kotsu both confused and flustered.

"WE'RE GOING TO WHAT?!"


	27. Come back Kotsu!

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 27: "Come back Kotsu!"**

Fumie drags Kotsu to the subway much to his own dismay. She's ordered him to go on a date with her which he apparently has no choice but to obey. After they find a seat in the train Kotsu finally decides to speak up. "Um… why're we-?" He starts but Fumie cuts him off.

"Because I want you to go back to the normal Kotsu! You're a really nice person and it's annoying to see you be so down! And you're my friend and when my friend is sad… I help them out!"

Kotsu slightly blushes before he chuckles a little nervously looking at the floor. "Thank you Fumie… but it's alright. I'M… alright… what was I thinking anyway. Me? Be a mafia boss? When there're so many other people who're more fit for the job.

"You're clearly NOT okay Kotsu! You're really sad after that loss against the weird robot-guy!" she says and Kotsu is simply reminded of his horrid loss against NM-5.

"Yeah… I guess you're right… I am a little sad… I thought I'd finally found my purpose… but then it was taken away from me again… realizing you're not cut out for something you wanted to do kinda sucks doesn't it…?"

Fumie doesn't say anything, instead pulling Kotsu up and dragging him out of the train as it stops. "No more moping Kotsu! Let's go have ourselves some fun!" She demands.

Behind them someone else exits the train as well. It's Zaccaria. He begins following after the two making sure to stay far enough back so that he won't be noticed. "Let's hope you can get that boy back on his feet miss…" He says putting on a cap to cover his quite noticeable piercing orange eyes.

 **-NII-**

Fumie pulls Kotsu around town and into various shops starting with a store that sells a variety of clothes. "Well Kotsu… Let's go play dress-up!" She says happily dragging him inside against his own will. "Alright here're the rules Kotsu… We both pick out some outfits for the other to wear… and then we hang them up in one of the dressing rooms! And you're not allowed to see until you have to wear it alright!?" She says before leaving Kotsu to himself as she runs off to the boy's section.

Kotsu really appreciates her trying so damn hard to make him feel better… but… he looks at the women's section which he now has to venture into to find something for Fumie to wear. And he already knows that he'll do a horrible job with his sucky fashion sense. But he gives it his best shot.

Zaccaria walks closely behind him in the next row. As he sees Kotsu picking out various shirts to examine whether they'd look good on Fumie or not he simply sighs before he walks past him tossing some clothes over Kotsu's head which makes him jump. "W-wha…!? Who's there!?" he tries getting it off before looking around but Zaccaria is gone and Kotsu looks at the clothes he was hit with. It all seems quite nice actually…

After Zaccaria subtly fishes out a few more outfits for Kotsu the two friends meet up at the dressing rooms and Fumie giggles seeing Kotsu's red face as he's spent WAY more time in the girls' section than he wanted to. "I see you found some… now you first! I've already put them inside!" She says almost excited as Kotsu enters and changes his clothes into the first off his 'new' outfits.

He comes out in a brown west coat with some light jeans. Under the west is a simple white shirt and he's wearing a cowboy hat on top of it all. "W-what did you dress me in Fumie-san!?" Kotsu frantically says looking at her and she laughs her ass off.

"No no no! Kotsu-kun! You gotta act more like a cowboy! You know…" She holds up her finger like a pistol. "Howdy partner. Ready to go catch some wild stallions eh?" She says and Kotsu can't help but smile.

"Yeah yeah… I'm no good at acting…" he says but tries anyway. "H-howdy f-fine lass… fine weather we're havin' today. Not a sheep in the sky…" He says and Fumie can't hold in her laughter.

"Enough! Enough! I can't take it!" She says and Kotsu just steps out pouting almost.

"W-well… then YOU try on something!" He says and Fumie quickly enters her own booth. Now Kotsu kind of regrets 'picking' normal clothes. She comes out in a long thin light blue dress with some yellow flowers at the bottom accompanied by a large straw hat.

"This is actually really pretty Kotsu-kun…" She says almost surprised as she spins on her heel. "How do I look?" she says looking at him with a tilted head.

Kotsu blushes seeing her look at him like that. "Y-you look… stunning…" He tries and she just giggles seeing that he's forgotten a little bit about the loss.

The two continue to have tons of fun with Kotsu being a little more open to his horrible acting skills as Fumie's other outfits are a vampire and finally some kind of gangster while Kotsu's remaining outfits almost give him a nosebleed to see on Fumie. In fact she ends up buying most of the outfits he picked for her as they leave.

"That was so much fun!" She says and laughs. "You make a really nice gangster Kotsu-kun!" She says laughing as his stoic cold gangster impression was by far the worst and therefore funniest. However saying something like that quickly reminds Kotsu of his loss against the TRUE mafia gangster.

"Yeah… but I think I should be focusing on other things…" He says and Fumie puffs her cheeks.

"Hey! No ruining the mood!" She says grabbing his hand as they walk down the street with her in the lead.

"W-where're we going now!?" He tries and Fumie looks at him.

"Whenever I'M sad it always help getting some good food!" she says and drags him into a junk-food restaurant.

"Um… a-are you sure you want to eat here… this is kinda… greasy isn't it Fumie-san?" However she doesn't listen.

"No worries! We'll just order something that's not greasy in that case!" She says as they order and find a place to sit where Fumie just leans forward on the table laying her head on her hands staring right at Kotsu. "Kotsu-kun… you really loved that game right?" She asks and Kotsu slowly nods.

"It was… something I felt like was meant for me… that's the first time that's happened with anything…"

"T-then why're you giving up so suddenly?! Just because you lost…?" She argues and Kotsu just looks to the side.

"n-not exactly… it's because… the person who beat me… he wasn't… he wasn't the strongest out of them all… and… I've just… never felt so.. humiliated before…" He says laying his head on the table.

Zaccaria sits right behind him at another table listening in. "I… can see why you'd think that's humiliating… but you can always come back from it right!? L-like you did with that Geraldino guy who kidnapped me!?" Fumie tries again.

Kotsu just shakes his head. "This guy's much better than Geraldino… it's a hopeless case…" he adds and Zaccaria snickers to himself a little at the comment as he knows Geraldino at his TRUE full power might match him.

Their food arrives and Fumie keeps trying to make Kotsu get back in the fight with little success. "B-but… even if it was humiliating to lose… i-is there any harm in trying again?"

To this Kotsu nods taking another fry. "Yeah… this time Ren and Tsugemora are in harms way… and Ren doesn't want to fight… and Tsugemora could get seriously hurt…" He adds and Fumie can definitely understand his concern.

 **-NII-**

Fumie is starting to run out of ideas of how to cheer Kotsu up after they ate and she's now dragged him to a park and they're sitting on a bench next to an older man. "You're a tough nut to crack Kotsu-kun! Once you've gotten down it's impossible to get you up…" She says sighing and Kotsu chuckles a bit.

"I guess so… sorry for making you waste time on me," However Fumie jumps up seeing an ice-cream stand nearby.

"ALRIGHT! One final attempt! I'm going to go get us some ice-cream!" She says jumping up before running to the que which is a little bit long.

At this moment Zaccaria is sitting in a tree out of view watching Kotsu. "I guess I should give him a little push…" He says standing up and he's about to jump out to talk to him.

"What's gotten you down young man?" The old man next to Kotsu asks out of nowhere which surprises both Kotsu and Zaccaria. The older man has virtually no hair except a spiky tuft of brown hair in the middle of his head sort of like a horn with another similar one further back. Quite an odd hairstyle…

"Um… excuse me?"

"I asked what troubles you? It cannot be the young lady you are with… she is quite a catch," He says and Kotsu blushes a little looking after Fumie.

"W-wait no! You got it wrong! We're not…!"

"I see. Well that may come later. For now… tell me what troubles you? You are young and should not have much in the way of worries," He says and Kotsu leans forward deciding to tell him but of course he wants to leave out the true nature of it since anyone would simply find him insane.

"W-well… um… it's just… I found something I really thought was for me… that I was really good at it… but now I have to face someone who's so much better that I don't even stand a chance… and I know there's another one who's equally as good… so I'm kind of bummed out about quitting…" He says referring to Zaccaria and Ywan as the two opponents.

The man slowly nods right up until the last part. "You've given up and quit? My boy… listen to an old man… we're all walking on the road of life… there're many bumps and twists we do not see coming but we keep moving forward. However sometimes there appears an obstacle in front of us. It stops us in our tracks but what we choose to do then is what defines us. You can either stop completely or climb over it…" He says making Kotsu imagine the metaphor in front of him with himself having the giant wall of Zaccaria and Ywan in front of him.

"Yeah… but this is a wall to high for me to climb…"

"Indeed it is… not because it is impossible to overcome… but because you're hesitating in even attempting to climb this wall… hesitation is the equivalent of walking away from this wall. And once you do that can you really say you tried…?" He says getting up from his seat stretching a little. "Remember this one thing my boy. He who hesitates has already lost. You must grab any and all opportunities while you're still young or you will simply regret it later. Take it from an old man like me… I have made mistakes… I've lost battles against the world. But I eventually found my way to where I want to be…" He says before walking off and Zaccaria smirks in the tree.

"I guess that might just do it…" He says watching as Kotsu process' everything he just heard.

"If I hesitate I've already lost…" He says letting out a little sigh with a smirk. "I guess he got something right… I really AM hesitating… But I don't hesitate because of me… I just… don't want my friends to get hurt…" He says to himself as Fumie comes back with an ice-cream for them both.

"Here ya go Kotsu-kun!" She says and the two eat their ice-cream. Fumie notes halfway through that it's about time to return to the resort. "We gotta get going Kotsu-kun! Or we'll be home late…" She says and the two get up and start walking with Kotsu looking at her.

He smiles weakly. "Hey Fumie… thanks for today… it was nice of you and all… but I don't think I still need a few days to recover…" He says before he suddenly steps in a crack in a weird way making his foot stuck and he falls forward dropping his ice-cream. "Damn… just… just my luck…" He says trying to pull his foot out. Seems like NOTHING is going his way today. However he finds Fumie sitting at his foot helping him get out. "W-what're you doing?" He asks and Fumie almost glares angrily at him.

"What do you think I'm doing!? You're not alone Kotsu! Don't think you're the only one who cares about you! You have lots of friends! You said you didn't want to involve Ren-senpai and Tsugemora-kun in this game and you quit for their sake right? But whoever said THEY don't want to get involved. It's what makes you happy! We all want to see you happy after all!" She says getting his foot free and Kotsu's honestly stunned.

He slowly gets up now in deep thought. If they want to get involved? The thought never occurred to him… they must've been chosen by Primo because he felt that they would be the most suitable options! "F-Fumie-san… thank you…" He says smiling as he stands up and Fumie gives him a wide toothy grin in return.

"MUCH BETTER! This is the real Kotsu I know and love!" She says grabbing his head and giving him a noogie much to his dismay.

"H-hey! stop!" Kotsu tries and she lets him go before happily skipping towards the station again. Kotsu can clearly see that she's happy, but he still can't help but be a little worried. Even if his guardians want to fight for him, which he doubts in Ren's case at least, it'll STILL be a tough fight… they all need to get a lot stronger to beat both Zaccaria AND Ywan… which worries Kotsu a little… he STILL hasn't met Ywan so he doesn't know how strong he is… but he knows one thing for certain. He looks behind himself seeing Zaccaria walking away, but he doesn't recognize him due to his cap. "Zaccaria… I know you're out there… I will beat you!" He yells into the public much to his own surprise and everyone looks strangely at him, making him embarrassed.

Zaccaria smirks under his cap. "You'd better at least put up a fight," He says walking towards the hotel he's staying at with his own guardians. "I'd like to say you're a weird kid Kotsukiba… but you're as normal as they come… which might be the weirdest thing about you…"


	28. Back in business

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 28: Back in business**

Kotsu and Fumie return to the resort and Kotsu quickly spots his tutor standing leaned against the entrance. "Reborn! I-!" Kotsu starts but Reborn just points.

"Good to see you back on your feet. He'll be training you," He says and Kotsu looks where Reborn is pointing seeing none other than Murphy and he falls flat on his face. He was ready to be trained by someone INTENSE and STRICT and SUPER STRONG! But… he gets Murphy… unlucky… He blinks a little realizing that's sort of Murphy's whole deal…

"N-no offense to Murphy but… why Murphy!?" Murphy just chuckles a little sadness showing in his voice.

"Because while you were walking around being miserable everyone else got their own trainers. Murphy is the only one left it seems…" He says further adding to Murphy's feeling of being useless. "You should feel lucky you even HAVE a trainer Klutsu. If it was up to me I'd just leave you to train yourself," He says before leaving for his own training of Tsugemora. Fumie smacks Kotsu on the back with a huge grin.

"Well it looks like you have your work cut out for you doesn't it!? Good luck 'Klutsu'," She says giggling at his nickname.

Kotsu just blinks a few times before going with Murphy to train. "So… you um… you okay again Secondo-san?" Murphy asks as they walk into the woods behind the resort.

"Y-yeah… I'm good… scared… but good…" He says still not seeing how he'll be able to defeat Zaccaria OR Ywan. "Where're we GOING anyway?" He asks back and Murphy just points straight forward before getting a spider-web in his face and tripping.

"T-that way…" He says and Kotsu facepalms. Even HE knows which direction they're going… He helps Murphy up and the man gets all the spiderweb out of his face. "There's a good training area nearby…"

"How… once more no offense at all… but how're YOU going to train me?"

"None taken once again secondo-san… as a matter of fact I was wondering that myself. But I came to the conclusion that I can't really teach you any new techniques… so… it'll heavily depend on you and… getting comfortable with your weapon… and getting used to hyper dying will mode,"

"A-alright… I guess I might need some physical training then… right?"

Murphy nods glee sparkling in his eyes.

"That's right! That's ONE thing I'm quite good at!" He says as they reach an opening and Murphy tosses off his long brown jacket revealing a well-muscled physique underneath covered by a black tank-top. He stretches a little and Kotsu is honestly stunned at how impressively strong he looks.

"I… nevermind…" He just says and the two begin their training with Murphy leading the charge on physical training.

 **-NII-**

Reborn walks behind the resort also into the woods to another ground like the one Kotsu and Murphy are at. On it he sees Tsugemora standing also doing some physical training. Reborn smirks seeing him work hard. He can't help but wonder how long he can keep going…? He's doing it for Klutsu… so he recons Tsugemora could keep going for at least a few hours before stopping. "Tsugemora. At ease," he says and Tsugemora stops his push-ups and gets up. In spite of barely being 13 he does seem to have done a lot of training before.

"Why Reborn-san?! If I stop training I'll never be useful! I got beaten without a second's notice!" He says remembering how NM-5 beat him in a few seconds without even paying much attention.

Reborn just shakes his head. "Training for a week, even as extensively as you're willing to, won't help someone like you out. You're too young. Your body's not producing much of the hormones needed to make you stronger. Maybe in a year or two. Instead. Take this," He says tossing him something and Tsugemora grabs it. It's a very strange-looking gun with a hook at the end instead of a barrel.

"A hook-gun? Why should I use THIS!?" He says pointing it at a tree pretending to aim.

"Because… remember how it went with Geraldino… or Yari… or NM-5 up close?" He says and Tsugemora grits his teeth knowing that in almost every instant he's been next to useless. "You might want to start working on your ranged game," He says before he quickly paints some targets on trees around them. "Hit all of these targets one after another in succession. That's all you need to do. After that… I have another exercise in mind," He says sitting down against an unmarked tree and Tsugemora takes aim and fires missing the tree thanks to the recoil.

"Damn… this is kinda hard…"

"Training isn't easy. Once more. Wouldn't want to fail your 'nii-san'," he says intentionally egging him on.

 **-NII-**

Ren is sitting in his room with Reishiro, Ren reading a book while Reishiro is just staring into blank space as he does. "Oi Ren… Who's that guy, that always attacks you when we're here…?" Reishiro asks breaking the silence.

"that's Kyoya-sensei… our homeroom teacher… he wants me to get into this game my little brother's playing… because I was chosen to be his 'guardian'. It's not really for me though,"

"Guardian… I know a guardian… my mama… she takes care of kids…" He says falling backwards laying himself on the floor.

"She does? That's a tough job isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Your mom? Being a guardian for kids?"

"It's a job?"

Ren chuckles a little. "N-nevermind Reishiro… but… even now… I'm kind of glad lil' bro got beaten that time… it made him realize it's a dangerous game… he could hurt himself if he keeps going… I'm happy to hear he's focusing on school…" He says turning the page.

Reishiro tilts his head. "You're happy?" he says wondering why since from what he could tell Kotsu was sad… "It seemed like Mini-Ren really liked that game though… right?"

Ren nods as he closes his book. "He did… but it's an unhealthy habit… it involves fighting after all,"

"Fighting… my dad fights sometimes…"

"With your mom?"

"He fights with my mom?" Reishiro asks confused once more.

"N-no. I'm asking you. I don't know if he does,"

"Ah! Sokaaa… I dunno if they do… they don't live together… My papa lives somewhere… I don't really know where… but he fights for a living…" He says and Ren wonders if Reishiro's dad's some kind of boxer.

"Well as long as he isn't involved in anything shady…"

"I've seen him with sunglasses. That's shady right…?" Reishiro says and Ren just laughs loudly.

"You're a blast sometimes Reishiro…"

Reishiro gets up and goes to the door. "I'll leave you two alone for a while…" He says opening the door where Hibari is standing getting ready to knock on the door making both Ren and Hibari wonder how on earth he knew Hibari would be there.

After Reishiro leaves without saying a word to their teacher Hibari enters the room. "L-listen Kyoya-sensei… I know what you're going to say a-and I… I really don't care for this game… I hope you understand…" He says and Hibari just grits his teeth.

"Outside… NOW!" He says exiting the room and Ren follows him with a slight gulp. As soon as they're outside Hibari attacks him with his tonfa's and Ren starts dodging, knowing that those things hurt. He's seen Hibari dispatch of bullies and delinquents at their school before. The students hanging around outside look wonderingly at the two of them as Ren keeps jumping back, over and sideways to avoid the intense pressure Hibari is exerting on him. "You're a nice boy Ren! But you're narrowminded when it comes to your right and wrong!" He says nearly hitting Ren and the boy wonders what on earth he's talking about. He knows what's wrong! It's wrong for someone like Kotsu to play this game and it's right that he quit…

"What're you trying to say…?" Ren asks and Hibari just grits his teeth.

"You really don't see what's wrong!?"

"NO! What're you talking about!? You're so mad at me and I don't know why!? I-I just care about my little brother! What's so wrong with that!?"

Hibari stops his attack. He just once more looks almost disgusted at Ren. "You're acting selfishly Ren. You say you're worried about his health. That he'll hurt himself… But you're just worried that he's not being who YOU want him to be…" He says before attacking him again and Ren jumps back with a backflip. He's getting a bit upset with Hibari at this point. He might have an immense amount of respect for him, but he can't just tell him blatantly that he's being selfish! He's NOT! He just… he just cares about his little brother that's all. He grits his teeth before turning back to the hotel.

"I-I'm going to bed…" He says heading inside and Hibari puts his tonfas away.

"That'll give you something to think about…"

As he enters the room Reishiro is laying in his bed sleeping with his eyes open which Ren found quite odd at first but he's become accustomed to it. However as he himself prepares for bed too Reishiro turns a little in his sleep. "He's saaaaaddd…" He mumbles to himself and Ren just ignores it as he also knows Reishiro talks in his sleep. Though for some reason it usually has something to do with Ren's current situation.

Ren just lays down in his own bed wondering what Hibari meant by him being selfish. "He…needs… Ren…" Reishiro once more whispers.


	29. Team Z

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Clear to cloudy/span/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Target 29: Team Z/span/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The next day, at a playground somewhere in the city the boy they met at the subway Faust is sitting on a swingset mostly minding his own business. However he finds it a little difficult to do so as one of his teammates is quite the loudmouth. Boris… a tall, tanned man in his late twenties. To Faust he's also the most muscular man he's ever seen clearly doing training in between all those trips to the tanning salon. And trust Faust when he says that Boris LOVES showing off his strength. If his clothes didn't give that away. A simple white tank-top and bandages around his forearms as well as red shorts. If there's one group of people he loves showing off to most people would think it's women… but it's actually children. Which is what he's currently doing…/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""YAHAHAHA!" the tall man yells as a few of the kids at the playground hang from his arms. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You're super strong mister Boris!" They all say and he gets immensely proud. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""That's right kids! Hours of training DOES pay off! Believe me!" He says proudly looking to Faust. "What's the matter Faust. You're not gonna come play with us!?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Faust just shakes his head. "No thanks… I'm not much into tag or hide'n'seek… or whatever little girls and boys play nowadays… house?" He says thinking more about it and Boris laughs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Those are all AWESOME ideas Faust! Who wants to play catch!?" the kids all happily jump onto the ground again before running around all over the place. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You can't catch us Mister Boris!" A boy yells and Boris slams his fists together with a confident smirk./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You BET I can!" He says setting after them deliberately moving slower so they stand a chance and Faust just sighs looking around./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I wonder what the others are doing…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"-NII-/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Elsewhere in the city two people are sitting on a rooftop overlooking a hotel. Both dressed quite oddly. The first has short sand-colored hair that falls in his face, but he doesn't seem to mind. His shirt is quite odd as one sleeve is long while the other is short. On the short sleeve he has a metal bracelet with little red gems in it. He's wearing shorts and sandals allowed people to see the two similar bracelets on his ankles. "Kagetoraaaaaaaaaaaaa…" He complains to his companion. "I'm bored," He adds and the boy he referred to sighs. He's dressed in a classic ninja outfit complete with a scarf that can flow in the wind and a bandana covering his mouth and nose. He has a knife holster at the back of his hip./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Ricci-kun… how many times must I say…? Patience. Glory comes to those who wait young shinobi…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Ricci leans his head against his hand. "Which ninja-movie did you take that one from?" He asks and Kagetora flinches a little but quickly regains his composure fixing his bandana. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I take no such thing! A true ninja only steals physical objects!" He complains and Ricci just sighs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I HAVE been patient though… but they're not DOING anything!" He says looking at a certain room of the hotel where he knows Ywan and his guardians have taken up residence for the duration of their stay in Tokyo./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Quite true… quite true. However this is the task Zaccaria-san has given us… so it's the one we will carry out,"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I hear ya. I hear ya…" He says and keeps staring at the window. "You know… aren't they a little TOO still in there…?" He asks and Kagetora wonders what Ricci means however after looking again the people in the hotel aren't moving at all. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You're right!?" Kagetora says almost like a question and Ricci just sighs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You're a jerk… I can be right from time to time…" He says before suddenly letting himself fall off the building and he shoots off the wall with some kind of red flame blasting from the impact points. He grabs onto the window and peaks inside. "Sneaky sneaky Ywan and co…" He says before leaping back to Kagetora. "It's fakes… guess they saw us coming…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""It cannot have been 'I' who tipped them off. I am a proper shinobi after all,"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Yeah yeah… but where're they then…?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"-NII-/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Zaccaria is sitting in a hotel room in front of NM-5 who's chest is opened and he appears to have been shut off. "What're you doing to him…?" A person standing in a corner in the shadows asks and Zaccaria just smirks a little./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Not much. Just making sure he's functioning properly. Wouldn't want him to shut down at a crucial moment."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""that's true. So… can I ask why I'M here? I've got nothing to do with the Vongola family yet I was appointed as your guardian," He says holding out his hand which has an indigo ring in the shape of the vongola insignia./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Actually you do… one of our opponents made arrangements to have our families ally with each other. So it was only natural that we picked someone from your family to represent us. To show that we're serious about this alliance."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The other person tsks. "I'm not a fan of being used as a symbol of peace. I'm more of a cruel person who'd represent that we're enemies or something…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""At the very least you're honest. But all my other guardians were decided beforehand and all your siblings have other flames… so you were the only pick we had,"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The boy in the corner tsks. "So I'm not even sloppy seconds? Just 'the only choice'? That annoys me you know? By the way… what even IS that guy?" He says gesturing to NM-5. "He sure can't be one of those Mosca things."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""he's a new model. Neo Mosca version 5 or… NM-5 for short," Zaccaria takes out a little cylinder with a glass frame. In the middle is a purple flame just like Kotsu's. "And this is his power source. It's pretty amazing if you ask me," He puts it back in NM-5 cranking a switch and closes him up before he activates again./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Activating…" /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"the robot clenches his fists. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;""All weapons operational… safe mode… activated?" /emHe looks to Zaccaria but before he can ask why he quickly spins around his fists turning into big guns. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;""Intruder alert!" /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"A man comes into the room with his hands up and a slight smirk. "Relax relax… I'm not here to make trouble… don't worry… if I was you'd already all be dead," he says revealing his figure. It's the old man who cheered up Kotsu the day before./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Well well well… to what do I owe the honor… Ywan?" Zaccaria says stepping forward. The old man smirks. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I didn't know you'd seen my face, with how far in the sky your head is," He says with a smirk and Zaccaria smirks./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Quite interesting coming from you Ywan. What do you want? A fight? I'd advise against that," he responds picking out his katar from his pocket. Ywan takes out a large dagger which is coated in orange flames./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""While I'd love to test that counseling by beating you to a pulp… I think I'll stick to talking…" He says with a slight smirk, and Zaccaria knows something is up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"-NII-/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Back in the park Boris has finally caught all the kids and he triumphantly flexes like a bodybuilder and Faust just sighs. "You sure showed them Boris," /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""YAHAAAAHAHA! Of course! These leg muscles aren't for show you know!?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Could've fooled me with how much you show off…" He says with the children surrounding Boris who sits down to talk to them. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"One of the boys looks a little sad. "Mister Boris…? I don't think I can ever become as strong as you… You're WAY too cool…" He says and Boris puts his big hand on the little boy's head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Nonsense! Absolute NONSENSE!" He says loud as always. "It's easy! Just believe in yourself! That goes for ANYTHING! Every one of you can do WHATEVER you want if you're willing to work hard to get there!" He yells and all the kids give him the biggest hug they can causing him to laugh./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Faust sighs again. "You really love children don't you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""they're the next generation Faust! Not liking children is the same as denying the future,"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""That's deep from a shallow guy like you…" Faust instantly retorts before he suddenly stands as he sees someone approaching. Someone they know. "Boris…" He says in a serious tone and Boris stands setting all the children aside. He looks to the approaching man. An older man with a short black beard and green eyes dressed in a tuxedo./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Run along boys and girls…" He says worried and the children's parents quickly get them and they all leave. "What're YOU doing here… master Antonio…?" He asks and the man chuckles a little./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""As brash as ever Boris. I'm just here to test and see if you're still as strong as you should be. Your trainer Riccardo wanted to be here, but he'd rather not embarrass you," he says and Faust strokes his cheek where Riccardo punched him at the station where he caught Rinoka. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""So you want a fight huh? That's fine by me!" Boris says slamming his fists together./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Very well then you two. Let's do this…" Antonio says smirking and Faust prepares to fight but Boris just holds his hand in front of him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Go tell master Zaccaria what happened… And say he started it," He says insinuating he can easily beat Antonio by himself./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Will do. Wasn't in the mood for a fight anyway?" he says leaving the park. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Antonio laughs. "You really think you can defeat me all by yourself? I TRAINED you!" He says taking out a little red box punching it with his flamed ring which has a red ring in the form of the vongola insignia on it into it. It bursts open and a large bird flies out. It's completely on fire and lands on Antonio's shoulder./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""What's that thing…?" Boris asks preparing his fists in a rather sloppy manner, no real style apparent in his stance./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""This is a prototype box weapon. Fenice di tempest," (Italian: Phoenix of the storm) He declares and Boris simply smirks where most other people would be slightly frightened. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You honestly think I'm scared of a simple new little magic trick!? It doesn't make a difference to me whether you have one box weapon or a hundred! I'll smash them all to pieces!" He yells slamming his fists together and his bandages light up with yellow as he does so./span/p 


	30. Don't underestimate us!

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Clear to cloudy/span/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Target 30: "Don't underestimate us!"/span/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"In the hotel room Ricci and Kagetora are scouting there may be some fakes. However there is one person in there. A man in glasses with messy sand-colored hair wearing a lab coat. He's sitting at his computer watching Ricci and Kagetora overlooking the room with a little flying camera outside. "You really look down on your old man eh Ricci…?" He says chuckling taking a sip of his coffee cup. He switches the screen around. There's another camera around the park where Boris is and one following Faust on his trip to the hotel where Zaccaria is. "What a simple reaction Boris… Ywan would be disappointed…" He says chuckling. "Those crazy Russians…" He adds before getting up. He heads into the livingroom letting Ricci and Kagetora see him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""How's it going with them?" Someone asks and the spectacled man fixes those spectacles./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""We'll have a bit of data on Boris' progress at the very least. Depending on how it goes with Faust we may have data on him as well… that is uncertain though…" He says and the other person in the room turns down the volume on the TV still following the yoga-instructions on the screen. It's Riccardo, the one they all met at the station./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I see… I certainly hope Antonio knows what he's dealing with. Boris is no pushover. I trained him physically after all. That boy, neigh… that MAN can take a beating, but he certainly gives out one as well…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Yes yes… I am aware… you've told us the story 37 times at this moment. 38 if you decide to tell it once more," He says and Riccardo laughs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Seems the times hasn't lessened your ability to compute eh Albert? 37 plus 1? That's a hard equation isn't it?" He says with a sly smirk as he switches into another pose and Albert just rolls his eyes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Of course it is not. I simply wanted to prove a point,"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""A question for your scientific brain: was it really a good idea to send Antonio to fight Boris?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Well it certainly was. Saves ME the trouble and saves YOU the trouble… I know how you hate losing…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Heh! Agreed. I feel slightly bad for Antonio…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Well Riccardo… he IS facing 'Boris the demolisher'…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"-NII-/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Back at the playground Boris and Antonio are about to begin their battle. "Go." Antonio commands and his phoenix flies off his shoulder and attacks. It shoots fiery feathers at Boris who quickly moves back punching the feathers making them disappear, before the phoenix itself comes flying down trying to claw at him, but right as it tries Boris punches it also and his bandages glow again upon contact. It gets a large hole in the stomach as it's almost entirely made of fire and tumbles back to Antonio's feet. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Got any more for me?" Boris says with a smirk. Antonio just looks down at the phoenix as the hole gets fixed and it flies up again./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You know the tale of the phoenix. It rises from it's own ashes. This bird can keep fighting until I run out of flames to fuel its regeneration!" The phoenix attacks again and Boris tries knocking it down again, but it avoids having seen the attack before and he manages to avoid the peck getting burned by it's flaming body and he jumps back holding a hand over his face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Tsk… so it learns too huh?" He says and his bandage glows as the phoenix attacks again. However Boris suddenly slams his fist into the ground screaming, almost like a battle cry before punching at the phoenix again and it once more avoid however Boris suddenly comes out of nowhere with his other hand grabbing it and slamming it into the ground. "BLESK BOMBIT!" (Russian: Shine bomb) Suddenly the ground explodes and the phoenix's head is obliterated and the body flies backwards. However within seconds it's back up with a new head and new knowledge. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""So… I see you've become more powerful. Finally mastered that technique," /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Boris slams his fists together as the phoenix attacks again and Boris keeps at it never seeming to tire out./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"After a few more strikes he lands a pretty rough hit sending it flying into Antonio who catches it without seeming to get burned. "That's it… we're done…" Boris says turning his back. "TSEP' BOMBIT!" (Russian: chain bomb) he declares and Antonio is quite confused./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""What do you mean it's over!?" However suddenly the Phoenix explodes and then explodes again and again and again hitting Antonio with most of the energy from the explosion. "W-what the!?" He yells before he's blasted back. Boris walks up and steps on Antonio's stomach. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Go back to your boss. And tell him not to mess with us. And if he does… DON'T underestimate us!" he says walking away and Antonio slowly gets up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""How did you do that!? How!?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Simple… every hit I landed I placed a bomb in the hole it made. Just a matter of exploding them all," He says with a devilish smirk. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Y-you're a monster Boris…" Antonio says and Boris smirks. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I know that," He says slamming his fists together. "Next time… I might use blesk bombit at 50% strength… if my opponent is more worthy than you…" He says and Antonio is in disbelief that not only was he defeated but Boris was holding back quite a bit it seems. "Lucky for you I don't intend on killing anyone up until this tournament," he says winding his explosion arm to check that it still moves properly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"-NII-/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Faust walks along the street casually with his hands in his pockets not paying much attention to anything around him. Much like the person walking directly towards in a zombie-like trance. The two bump into each other much to any bystanders' surprise. There weren't very many people around them! How did they manage to bump into each other!? /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Ah! Little guard…" Reishiro says and Faust looks surprised once more. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Little guard…?" He thinks for a second wondering what an earth this strange person is talking about. However he suddenly remembers. This guy was THERE! He was the one who stepped in front of NM-5 when he attacked Riccardo. He then also realizes what he means by 'little guard'. "That kid's thunder guardian again? I am not that guy… sorry…" He says almost annoyed and Reishiro tilts his head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Then who are you…?" he asks and Faust just shakes his head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""I'm Faust…" He says calmly. This is like watching two zombies talking. "I have somewhere to be… excuse me…" He says walking past Reishiro who seems to realize. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Ah! Sokaaa… THAT'S what I was doing… hey Tsuge-mega… where is this?" He says holding up a picture of a building and Faust doesn't feel like answering but turns around anyway. He blinks a few times making sure he's not seeing things as Reishiro is holding the picture up perfectly with the real building right behind it lining up almost TOO well for it to be coincidental. He just points at the building. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""It's right there…" He says after making sure he's still right in the head and Reishiro looks to the building./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Ah! Sokaaa… thanks Tsuge-mega… I'll see you later…" And with that the two go their separate ways leaving Faust to wonder why the two would ever meet again as Reishiro said. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"-NII-/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"In the hotel with Zaccaria and Ywan the young boy starts laughing. "You just want to talk you say!? That's a laugh isn't it? Then tell me what you want to talk about," /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Ywan closes his eyes putting his dagger away walking deeper into the room sitting on a chair. "It's actually pretty simple Zaccaria. I've heard about you. You're pretty impressive in your feats. Toppling a lot of foes since you've joined. Climbing the ranks and so on. But I want you to drop out of the ring conflict," He says in a very matter-of-fact manner. Zaccaria laughs a little before giving Ywan a very sadistic smirk./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Don't… underestimate us Ywan… you may think you're the best choice for being the leader of the vongola, but you couldn't be more wrong…" He says and now it's Ywan's turn to laugh./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Hard to the bone I see, Zaccaria! But who might be a better successor than I? You? That Kotsukiba boy? From what I know he's but a child! A very shy and inward one in addition. How are YOU TWO a better candidate than me? I have been with the family for many years. I have more experience with both the political side of the mafia world as well as the battle side of it. I am an appointed LEADER! And what are you two!? YOU are but a simple Varia assassin and the boy is an ordinary child! Even my guardians are superior to yours, each holding a high-ranking position within our family. From what I've heard the boy's guardians are mere civilians with the sole exception of Tsugemora Gagliardi. And what of yours…? Simple brutes with no brain power to speak of. Pathetic," He says leaning back in the chair and Zaccaria just stands there and takes it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He then simply turns his back. "NM-5… I have a spare change of clothes in the bathroom for you. This one is compatible with your weapons…" He says and Ywan grits his teeth as he's ignored./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You DARE ignore a superior!?" He says getting out of his seat holding his dagger again. However he almost jumps back as a large pair of eyes light up from the shadowy corner. They appear to be lizard eyes with orange pupils and the white of the eyes are instead green. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You said something there that I don't quite agree with… Ywan… that was your name I think…" The shadowy figure who spoke to Zaccaria before says./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""How long have you been there!?" Ywan demands and the figure just grinds his teeth./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""You said that Zaccaria's guardians are simple brutes with no brain to speak of… I'd definitely have to disagree with that," He says as the eyes dart around randomly looking incredibly disturbing./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""So I did. Your point? WHO ARE YOU!?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Who am I? Simple…" He says smirking. "None of your damn business. Just hope and pray your strongest guardian doesn't get paired up against me or he'll be in for a hell of a ride."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Ywan grits his teeth before he gets up the lizard eyes following him as he walks past Zaccaria. "Know this Zaccaria… staying in this conflict is bad for your health…" With those words he leaves the room. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He's quickly replaced by Faust returning. He walks in and sits down. "Well I… WAS going to tell you that we got attacked… but I have a feeling you already know that…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"NM-5 exits the bathroom in his new incredibly fashionable rocker clothes and Zaccaria smirks almost devilishly before he bursts out laughing. "I sure do! That Ywan… he has NO idea what he's getting himself into!" /span/p 


	31. Colors of the sky

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 31: Colors in the sky**

Kotsu is sitting and panting in his P.E clothes drinking some water after Murphy's rather rough training program. No wonder he's so strong… he constantly gets beaten and hurt. He must be getting SOMETHING in return…

Murphy sits down in front Kotsu on the other tree trunk. After sitting up straight since he obviously sat down wrong and fell backwards he leans forward a little. "I think that's enough physical training for today. But I DO have one other thing I can actually teach you before you start training with that weapon of yours…" He says and Kotsu gulps a little bit.

"Something else…? Like what?"

Murphy takes out an indigo ring. It does NOT have the appearance of the vongola insignia. "It's these," he says and Kotsu looks on his own finger where he has his own purely purple ring. "These rings and the corresponding flame-types are basically the backbone of the mafia world. And knowing what each of them do can save your life more often than almost any special ability you can come up with. Hyper dying will or not," He says and Kotsu now gulps for real as this sounds to be just about the most important thing he'll ever learn after reading and spelling…

"A-alright… I understand… P-please teach me," Kotsu says ready for some intense listening.

"Let's start at the very basics…" Murphy says putting his ring on and it lights up with an indigo hazy fire. "This is a dying will flame. My type is called a mist flame whereas yours is called cloud. From what I heard you're only aware of two other types,"

Kotsu thinks for a second remembering them precisely. "Y-yeah… Ren has a yellow one on his guardian ring and… Geraldino had a blue one,"

"Those are called sun and rain flames but… I'm getting ahead of myself. Within the last 30 years or so there has been a lot of progress made within the research of dying will flames. They're made of your dying will as the name implies so humans are the only ones who can create them. No machine can do the job." He turns his flame off again lowering his hand and Kotsu notes another ring on his opposite hand, which doesn't have a gem or something similar. Instead just a simple silver casing with three sixes imbedded in it.

"What about that ring? Which type is that?" he decides to ask and Murphy looks at it and chuckles a little.

"This one…? Well it's not a ring like my other one. I got it about 20 years ago. But that's not the point here… Let's talk about the flame types. There're seven in total each represented by a color of the rainbow. So let's take it in color order. First is storm which is red, then sky which is orange, sun which is yellow, thunder which is green, rain which is blue or cyan, mist like mine, which is indigo, and cloud like yours which is violet…" Kotsu thinks for a moment to see if he followed.

"Alright… but… when I battled Geraldino our flames seemed to be able to do COMPLETELY different things…"

"that's right. Each of the seven flames has a special attribute. Let's take my mist flame as an example. It's attribute is creation. Our family has a lot of illusionists who can create illusions using these flames and some are powerful enough to create 'real' illusions that can interact with the world."

"What!? That sounds insane!"

"Well… if you want to become the vongola boss you'll have to get used to insane I suppose… Anyway as for your own flame which might be the one you want to know the best, it's special attribute is propagation or expansion slash multiplication."

"Yeah… that was the conclusion hyper-Kotsu came to as well…" He says and Murphy nods.

"I see. You DID seem to make the most of that ability in that fight. Speaking of that fight… Geraldino's rain flame has the attribute tranquility. With it he and other rain users can slow down objects around them and very experienced users can even create ice."

"that's what Geraldino used…"

"Indeed. As for the other flame you've already seen Ren's sun flame has the attribute activation. With that he can accelerate any organic progress meaning it's perfect for healing and energizing. Some users can also use them to accelerate projectiles through the air," he explains and Kotsu somehow now understands how Tsugemora got better so quickly during their run-in with the ice wolves. Ren's flame was healing him…

"Finally we get to those you don't know I suppose… the most important one may be the sky flame as many leaders have this flame. Its attribute is harmony which can be used to petrify objects as well as revert physical things back to their original state."

"Hmm… so Primo-san has this flame?"

"That's right. The storm flame is next. One of the simplest attributes out of the roster. Disintegration. Anything it touches begins to break down into nothingness. And finally is the thunder flame which also has quite a simple attribute. That being hardening…. I don't suppose you want me to go into depth with what that can do,"

"N-no… I think I got it. It makes stuff harder… I-is that it?"

"Well it's the basics of each flame type. There's a whole bunch of science-y stuff about how they work with wavelengths and such,"

"So… I need to look out for not just ONE ability from everyone I fight but SEVEN!? That's impossible!"

"You're right about that. Luckily you don't have to. Most people can only conjure up a single out of the seven types. So no worries about overloading your brain," Kotsu lets out a relieved sigh before realizing a little quirk in his statement.

"Wait… you said most people…"

"That's right. It's incredibly rare, but some people have more than one. The most known example is the current storm-guardian… who doesn't just have two, but FIVE out of the seven flames," As soon as he hears that Kotsu gulps even harder imagining some horrid monster of a man.

"That sounds really scary… good thing he's on our side…"

"Quite so… the current generation are quite QUITE special. Each of them are also incredibly strong. There're very few people in the world who can match them,"

"T-then WHY are they retiring!?"

"that I don't know… but anyway… do you have any questions about the flame-types?"

"Not really… not right now anyway… maybe one question… how do I light my ring like you did? I've been using the cloud flame on my forehead this whole time,"

"I see… well we can surely work on that for now," He says beginning the same exercise that Geraldino told Rinoka to do. She's still working on making it light up at the moment without much progress…

 **-NII-**

Reishiro walks across the street almost getting hit by a car he doesn't see coming but luckily it manages to stop honking at him which he doesn't even hear. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING KID!" the driver yells and Reishiro stops to look at him with the usual confused look. He then looks down at his feet and keeps walking while looking exactly where he's going as in watching his feet.

"This is kinda weird…" He says to himself before walking into a lamppost. "Oh! Sorry miss…" He says walking around it finally making it to the building he had a gotten a picture of. "Hmm… this doesn't look like his house…" He enters the building. After looking around for WAY longer than necessary he finds the stairs and heads up a few flights of stairs he stands in front of an apartment. He knocks on the door using his head since he doesn't really feel like raising his hand. After knocking like that about 10 times someone finally opens the door and he falls straight forward onto the floor as he tries knocking once more.

"um… can I help you young man?" A grumpy ugly man says and Reishiro seems to mumble into the floor. "Hey! Get up! I don't feel like dealing with you youngsters tomfoolery!" He says and flips Reishiro open.

"Can I?" he asks and the man grits his teeth.

"Can you what?!"

"Come inside…?"

"Why on EARTH would I let a stranger in my apartment?!"

"My mama told me to come here…" he says which is seemingly unrelated but to Reishiro it makes perfect sense as to why it's relevant.

"Why should I care what your 'mama' told you!? That's got nothing to do with me," Reishiro gets up and seems to remember something his mom told him before leaving and the man is about to close the door.

"Ah! Sokaaa… mama told me to tell you my name's Reishiro Dokuro," he says and the man is about to slam the door when suddenly his gaze seems to go blank. Reishiro has his back turned since he is ready to leave and doesn't seem to see the black smoke emitting from the man's body. It slowly changes into a much more handsome tall man with dark-blue hair set in a long pony-tail and a little pineapple-like spike at the back. He's wearing some black leather and is holding a strange metal trident.

"So… you actually came? I'm a little surprised you managed to find this place," He says with a smirk and Reishiro turns back around seeing the man and his face lights up, as much as Reishiro's face can. He looks happy at least.

"Hey papa… I didn't know you lived here,"

The man gestures for Reishiro to enter the apartment. "I don't. I live in Italy still, but you don't need to understand. Do you know why your mom told you to come see me?" He asks and Reishiro thinks for a few seconds before hitting his fist against his hand like he just figured it out.

"Ah! Sokaaa… yeah… I know…" he says laughing a little, happy to see his father.


	32. Playing by the rules

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 32: Playing by the rules**

Ren wakes up and stretches happily. Another great day to be alive! The first week of their stay in Tokyo is almost over! Just a two more days to go! It'll be a little while before their day starts so he can go for a run first. He quickly gets in his yellow jumpsuit, putting on his fancy shoes his ring still burning with the comfortably warm sun flames, making him wonder if it'll ever go away… He goes out to run however right outside is Hibari, waiting for him. "I knew you'd go for a run. You really are obsessed with running," he says and Ren warms up for the run.

"Yeah… it's nice…" He says stretching a bit, showing that he's quite flexible, most likely from all that breakdancing he does.

"I want to show you something. Come on," He says walking and Ren confusedly follows him. Hibari leads him into the woods to the spot where Kotsu and Murphy were training and the entire space looks pretty banged up. Ren quickly realizes what the holes and markings remind him of. Their own garden after Kotsu battled Gerald there.

"W-what IS this!? Is this MORE of that game!?"

"This is where your little brother trained yesterday. For the ring conflict," He says and Ren grits his teeth.

"B-but I… I told him to stop it! The guys he's playing with aren't playing by the rules! Why!? Why would he keep playing such a dangerous game!? Even if he IS meant to be super strong he doesn't stand a chance against people who ACTUALLY want to hurt him!"

"If your little brother told you to stop breakdancing… would you do it?" He asks changing the topic slightly.

"That's not even REMOTELY related to this! I need to set him straight when the teambuilding today is done!" He says angrily walking back now having lost his desire to run for now.

"You're interesting Ren!" Hibari yells without facing him still looking at the scene in front of him. "Everyone should drop anything that you find unsuitable… but not you! You can do whatever you want!" He then turns to face Ren again. "I forbid you from talking to your little brother about quitting this game. A forbidding I WILL enforce,"

"Y-you can't DO that! It's my JOB to guide my little brother to the right path!"

"I already said I'd enforce it. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for your little brother," He says and Ren stomps away trying to forget about it.

 **-NII-**

A little while after Fumie also wakes up looking over seeing Geraldino sitting at the table, pen in hand, trying to copy a drawing Rinoka made for him to practice, but it seems he's not doing well. Sadly it seems Rinoka is not doing great on lighting her ring up either. Fumie quickly gets up as Rinoka is about to cry. "I-I-I can't do it… it's no use! I-I'm useless Geraldino-san!"

Geraldino turns in his chair. "No master! Don't say dumb things like that! You'll get it I'm certain!" He tries but she just sobs.

"Y-you say that every time Geraldino-san… but I don't get it… I'll never be useful to Kotsu-san…" She says before Fumie hugs her in spite of just waking up and not being a morning person.

"That's nonsense Rinoka-chan! I know Kotsu-kun and if you just show up I know Kotsu will be happy! Geraldino's a jerk and an idiot-" "HEY!" "But take it from ME! You'll definitely do it! And when you do I'll be SUPER happy for you!" She says and Rinoka now has newfound hope.

Meanwhile Geraldino finishes the drawing which looks practically nothing like the picture he got and looks at the time. "Well I think it's about time for us to go gather with the others!" He says before quickly crumbling his drawing so his master doesn't see what a failure he is.

 **-NII-**

For the duration of the team-building Kotsu can really feel a strange presence coming from his older brother. Like he's… ACTUALLY angry with him. He can't quite figure out why though.

During the midway break in between exercises Ren grabs his water bottle and takes a large sip and Kotsu sneaks his way up to him. "Hey um… Ren… are you mad at me?"

Ren stops taking a sip of his water and just looks elsewhere. "No. Just never took you for much of a rebel lil' bro."

"A rebel? I'm a rebel…"

"Yeah…" Ren looks around seeing Hibari glancing in their direction, clearly listening in. "You're still playing that game… even after I asked you not to?" He says and Hibari looks to prepare to stop the conversation, but Reborn grabs his shoulder.

"Let them. It's important,"

"Y-yes… I-I realizing that… even though it's a tough win… that I need to do it…" Kotsu says with a little almost embarrassed smirk.

"B-but you could hurt yourself! Why do you NEED to do it?! I-I'm worried about you! It's kind of selfish of you…" He says expecting Kotsu to agree as he's not known for being very selfish.

However Kotsu just shakes his head. "It's not selfish Ren! W-why would you even think I'd do it just for myself! I… had a talk with someone… and she told me I don't need to be in it alone. I have friends to help me AND friends to fight for… I know that if I lose… I'll let down a lot of people I care about. If I lose Cotton might get taken back to Italy against her will… I'll let down Tsugemora who's so proud to be my bodyguard. And I'll let down both Reborn and Primo who've guided me on the way…" he says sounding quite mature for a 14-year-old.

"B-but…" Ren starts but can't think of something to counter his argument. "But those people you need to win against… they're not playing by the rules! They're cheating! It's really dangerous! I don't want you to get hurt!" He says getting more and more upset.

However Kotsu looks at him. "Ren… I know… but I'll play by the rules… and when It's done I promise you that…" He says taking a step forward before raising his hand in a fist with his back turned. "I'll be standing like this… victorious…" He says and Ren just grits his teeth.

"Lil' bro… I… I don't want to watch you get hurt over some stupid game…" He says walking away and Kotsu just looks almost depressed after him.

"Me neither…"

 **-NII-**

The rest of the day goes without the two brothers talking, which greatly pleases Tsugemora as he's always quite jealous that Kotsu talks so much to Ren.

Lately his practice went fine. He's managed to hit every target in rapid succession however his new impossible wall to overcome… Reborn has started forcing Tsugemora to fight him. Of course with lots and lots of restrictions placed on Reborn since it wouldn't be fair otherwise. So to say the least he's very thankful that Reborn can heal him after he gets beaten down so they can keep going over and over.

Kotsu is in the woods with Murphy again swinging his fork around with his eyes closed, in hyper dying will state, trying to imagine opponents in front of him that he beats down. However every time he imagines Zaccaria he can't seem to keep up with his own imagination. He hasn't even FOUGHT the guy but he knows he's immensely powerful.

He falls to his knees sticking the large fork into the ground. "It's too tough… I can't see a way to defeat someone of his caliber…" He says as his flame disappears and he takes a break. Murphy sat watching the entire time and honestly has no clue what to tell him.

"Zaccaria's a tough customer that's for sure… Just beating HIM will be quite a task indeed. As well as Ywan. However from what I can tell your movements are become more and more smooth and your combos are lasting longer, so it seems you're making progress…"

"Yeah… but there's a big difference between making progress and being able to beat one of those two, let alone BOTH of them,"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Someone yells from a tree nearby. He jumps down and smirks his signature evil smirk. It's Zaccaria!?

"W-what're YOU doing here!?"

Zaccaria holds out his katar and it lights with what Kotsu now knows is a sky flame. However it's much different from what Murphy told him. It's incredibly deep orange and very smooth in its sparkling. Kind of like how Geraldino's rain flame looks more like flowing water than fire. "That's simple Kotsukiba Niruo… I don't really feel like waiting until the conflict to see what you have… So fight me!" He yells angrily and Kotsu jumps a little before Zaccaria jumps at him.

"Secondo-san!" Murphy yells tossing two blue pills after him and like before Kotsu knows that swallowing both will turn him into his hyper dying will form, however he doesn't manage to catch them both and he quickly realizes that Zaccaria is coming at him quite fast so he simply swallows the one he caught, not having time to think. His clothes burst off except for his boxers as he enters the normal dying will mode.

"I WILL FIGHT ZACCARIA WITH MY DYING WILL!" He yells off the top of his lungs and he jumps forward as well turning his fork large. He swings it like it weights nothing.

"Normal dying will mode?" Murphy comments and Kotsu swings the fork down and Zaccaria grabs the sids of the single katar taken quite aback by Kotsu's transformation. "REVERT 30%!" He yells and pulls as the katar turns into the two katars that's simply a large spike each instead of two thin ones. He holds them up to stop Kotsu's fork. He slams it down directly onto the katar and Zaccaria is not only forced to his knees, but Kotsu keeps pushing the fork down and Zaccaria seems to have trouble holding it up. However he manages holding Kotsu's fork in place. He stands up slowly and pushes Kotsu back however thanks to the dying will state Kotsu instantly attacks again swinging the fork wildly and Zaccaria is forced on the defense again blocking over and over with the two katars.

Kotsu stabs forward with the fork after being pushed back again and Zaccaria stabs one of his katars right in between the fork spikes stopping it right before it hits him in the eye. Kotsu lights his ring up and makes the spikes extend and Zaccaria just manages to move back to avoid getting his eyes stabbed out. He jumps back and smirks.

"Using my own favorite technique against me? That's pretty smar-" he starts but is forced to block another attack from Kotsu who isn't listening at all due to his dying will form. He jumps up landing on Kotsu's fork forcing it to the ground and he tries stabbing at Kotsu, but Kotsu lets go of his fork and catches the katar in between his hands. He yells loudly as he pushes Zaccaria back and reclaims his fork. Zaccaria grits his teeth as Kotsu charges again.

"Enough of this madness!" He yells and the left katar lights up with even more sky flames and he ducks under Kotsu's attack spinning at the same time slicing at the middle section of his fork cutting it clean in half making him drop it and he keeps spinning stabbing right for Kotsu's throat with immense speed.

"ZACCARIA! Stop this very instant!" Someone yells and Zaccaria stops right before he hits Kotsu and jumps back. His katars revert back into one. Kotsu's flame disappears at this moment as well as the fight seems to be over.

In the tree a woman jumps down. She has long pink hair and is wearing a black masquerade mask. "Cervello… I was wondering when you'd show up…" Zaccaria says with a smirk.

"That's right. And as a member of Cervello I could have you disqualified! AND Ywan for that matter as you have disobeyed the rules! Which clearly state that it is not allowed to interfere with the opposing teams except during the conflict battles. We do not wish for a repeat of last time."

Zaccaria just shrugs pretending to be innocent. "Well I certainly wouldn't mind if Ywan was disqualified. Makes my job easier," he says smirking and the Cervello woman jumps down. Zaccaria stares at her looking quite scary for a boy Kotsu's age. "So…? You gonna disqualify us or what?"

"No… we may be the epidemy of indifference to winners, however we have been asked to let it slide this time. Now that we are here we have each of you monitored 24 7 and if anything like this happens again then you WILL be disqualified. Understand?"

Zaccaria takes a step back with his hands up quickly glancing to Murphy who's looking at Kotsu's fork, which is whole even though Zaccaria just sliced it in two. "I got it. I got it. I'll back off. I got what I wanted anyway," He looks to Kotsu with an evil smirk. "You won't win with just that strength Kotsukiba Niruo… I hope you'll put up more of a fight when we meet in the conflict…" He says before walking off. The Cervello bows.

"Tomorrow I will ask of you to choose your first guardians for the first round. Please be compliant," She says before jumping back into the tree and disappearing.

"Secondo-san…" He says and tosses Kotsu his fork. "I think I may have an idea for what you can train now," He says with a sly smirk before a bird dropping lands right on his head and Kotsu just lets out a nervous laugh before looking towards Tokyo.

"I guess… we're all playing by the rules now…"


	33. Let the conflict BEGIN!

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 33: "Let the conflict… BEGIN!"**

The following day everyone concluded their training. Kotsu is quite exhausted as he enters his room where his roommates are quite curious as to what on earth he's been doing these last few days. He's always out until super late and he comes home exhausted and dirty. Yet… oddly happy.

"Hey Kotsu… what ARE you doing out there?" One of them decides to ask and Kotsu gives a bit of a weak smile.

"Just… training," He says and everyone chuckles a little, with a teasing tone.

"Finally trying to catch up to your big brother eh?"

"Something like that I guess…" he says going to take a shower and he puts his fork and ring down looking at them. He smiles a bit thinking that it's pretty incredible that he got these things… the only things that let him fight… are two handsized objects?

He exits the shower and approaches his own room again when he sees Reborn and Tsugemora coming home from their training. "NII-SAAAAAAN!" Tsugemora yells jumping at him without warning and the two slide along the ground. "Nii-san! I've gotten a lot of training from the amazing Reborn-san! I will SURELY be useful during the ring conflict!" He yells jumping up and Kotsu slowly gets up rubbing his head.

"Good to see some things never change I guess…" He says and Tsugemora realizes he just hurt Kotsu and he heads to a wall and starts slamming his head against it.

"I failed! I failed! I failed!" He yells until Reborn stops him before he wakes up the entire resort. However he definitely didn't do it because he cared. It's because of someone having appeared on the premise. The Cervello. Two of them. One man and one woman. The woman is holding a box with six smaller boxes in the middle while the man is holding a tray with two slots in it.

"So… we begin…" Reborn says and Kotsu gulps.

"Indeed. I will now explain the rules of the conflict to you all. Listen carefully," The man says stepping forward. "My colleague holds a box with six boxes inside, each representing one of your six guardians. Unlike the first ring conflict there're this time THREE candidates. The one chosen by Primo himself, Kotsukiba Niruo, the one chosen by the external advisor, Zaccaria and the one chosen by the council, Ywan. The matches will be one-on-one. In a moment I'll ask you to pick out two boxes. One will be for tomorrow's match against Zaccaria's guardian and the other will be against Ywan's guardian. They will do the same. We will then set up the matches in according to what you picked. Now Kotsukiba. Please pick out your two first fighters," He says and the woman steps forward presenting the boxes. All of them are metallic grey and closed so he can't see who he's choosing. He grabs one and puts it on the one for Zaccaria and it pops open revealing a yellow sun flame.

Tsugemora grits his teeth. "So that bastard Ren is up first?" he says and Kotsu picks out the next box already having given up on that fight, as it's clear Ren will refuse to fight. The second one has the red storm flame inside of it.

"Your two participants are your sun and storm guardian. Please make sure at least these two people are there tomorrow. The matches will be held in the grand mall next to Tokyo grand station," They tell before walking off.

Kotsu looks towards Ren's room, where the door is closed. "I really need you Ren…" Reborn smacks him in the back of the head.

"Quit it with that pathetic tone Klutsu," He says before also walking off to his room leaving just Tsugemora and Kotsu alone together.

Tsugemora tsks annoyed. "Looks like I'll have to pick that idiot's slack in my match…" He says looking disgusted at Ren's door.

"I just hope we can at least just concede the match so he doesn't have to get hurt…" He says wondering if he should go talk to him, but figures he's a bit too angry with Kotsu at this point to be able to have a sensible conversation with that will not revolve around Ren trying to get Kotsu to quit.

Sure enough Ren is still awake, laying on his bed looking at the burning ring on his finger. It doesn't set fire to anything… and it's actually nice to sleep with a comfy fire next to him so he hasn't taken it off since he got it, since it ALSO doesn't seem to go out or get rusty from showering. It's been burning since he put it on. He thought it was kind of cool at the start… you know… special. But right now it's just a reminder of this game Kotsu is playing. He takes it off for the first time and the fire goes out. He then goes to the window clenching it firmly. 'I'm sorry lil' bro. I know this thing was probably important… but I don't want any part of it…' He says before hurling the ring as hard as he can out the window into the woods. He then goes to bed kind of upset, but he's still the kind of person who doesn't let things bother him too much.

Reishiro comes home after a bit, having a bit of a pained expression on his face. He looks at Ren sleeping. He then sees something shining in the forest outside the window even though it's dark and there's nothing to reflect light off of he still spots it. Being the curious person he is he walks out again to go and pick it up. It's Ren's ring naturally. It seems it was giving off a few sun flames still. "Ah! This is Ren's… Looks like he dropped it…" He says heading back inside putting it on Ren's nightstand with a little note from Reishiro that crudely reads: 'This is yours. Be careful not to lose things you like. :-) Reishiro'. He then goes to bed himself.

 **-NII-**

Ren slowly opens his eyes in the morning seeing Reishiro's long tuft of hair poke out from under his blanket which he is under completely like some kind of cave-monster. He sees the note on his nightstand and looks at the ring. "I… I already said I don't want it… but thanks Reishiro," He says when Reishiro pulls his blanket off his head.

"Eh? You don't want it? But losing it'll make mini-Ren sad…" He says and Ren blinks a few times.

"It'll make Lil' bro sad?"

Reishiro sits up still fully clothed. Seems he didn't bother changing. That's very like him. "Who's lil' bro?"

"Mini-Ren…"

"Ah! Sokaaa… yeah… Mini-Ren's already really sad… you always say it's your job to keep him happy…" he argues and Ren once more is taken quite a bit aback. How does Reishiro always know so much yet understand so little…? "Ah! Sokaaa… that's right… Oi Ren… you need to go to the mall next to um… the grand Tokyo station… tonight. It's important…" He says getting out of bed, not commenting further as he leaves the room to start the day and Ren realizes that he 'overslept' and by that he means that he slept until normal people start getting up. He jumps out of bed and quickly gets into his jumpsuit.

 **-NII-**

Outside his group is waiting for him and Fumie smiles at him. "Morning Ren-senpai!" She says with a smile.

Ren gives her a smile as well. "Morning everyone," He says looking at Kotsu with a disappointed look before he's suddenly pulled to the side by Reborn.

"Stop that Ren. Listen up. Yesterday the judges for the tournament showed up. So his opponents are following the rules like they're supposed to okay? So stop being mad at him. Everything's by the book now. Got it!?" He says sounding genuinely mad at him.

"B-but he still wanted to play even WITH them playing AGAINST the rules! That's dangerous!"

"He knew they'd be there by the time it started. Doesn't mean the fight's going to be any less tough for him. And he ESPECIALLY doesn't need an older brother who doesn't believe in him,"

Ren once more blinks a few times. "I-If he knew then why wouldn't he tell me!?"

"Beats me… he's a bit weird you know," He says walking back and Ren lets out a sigh of relief. He was always going to be alright. He then lets on the happiest smile he has in a while before heading back to the group.

"Alright guys! What're we in for today!?" He says happily and Kotsu smiles at him for the first time also.

"No clue… but I'm sure we can handle it…" He says and everyone cheers yes, some more shyly than others and one more confused than others.

 **-NII-**

The day has now come and gone. Kotsu has never been so nervous before. Even when he was up against Geraldino he didn't really think about how strong his opponent was but now he's fought Zaccaria and he knows that his opponent is incredibly powerful. And not only that… but he has NO clue who Ren is fighting OR who his storm guardian is! Come to think of it… he doesn't know who MOST of his guardians are. He only knows Ren and Tsugemora… His cloud, mist, storm and rain guardian are still a total mystery to him. But now's not the time to think of that. He steps off the train at the grand station, looking at the mall where all the matches will be held. It's incredibly expansive and tall… so space isn't an issue. With him are Murphy, Hibari, Reborn and Geraldino of all people. As well as Ren of course.

"H-hey Reborn… where's my storm guardian… don't tell me it's one of you guys…?" He says looking quite frightened at the group of tall intimidating people… and Murphy. How is it that he knows so many scary guys…?

"It's not one of us. But I can assure you he'll arrive soon. At least in time for his match."

"R-right…" They enter the mall and inside they quickly meet the Cervello people who guide them to the main square where it seems the matches will be held.

"Welcome Kotsukiba Niruo. It seems all three of you are here," One of them states and Kotsu looks around seeing both of his opponents standing as far from each other as possible along with their entire guardian roster. They both glare at Kotsu and Kotsu realizes that Ywan was the man who comforted him and vice versa.

"YOU?!" They both say in surprise, but no one has time to dwell on it too much. Especially Kotsu who's quite scared at the moment. This is the first time all three of them have been in the same place at once. If you don't count the park where Zaccaria was hiding and the other two didn't know who the other was.

"Welcome all of you! To the second-ever ring conflict!" The Cervello say and all three boss-candidates look towards the center where she's standing. "You all know the rules. Here is where the matches will take place! One after another! We will now decide the order of these matches!" She declares and a large wheel with three symbols on it appears. A Cervello boy spins the wheel and it lands on the one Kotsu feared the most. It seems it Kotsu vs Zaccaria first. Meaning Ren will fight…

"Will the two chosen guardians please step forward?"

Ren does so raising his hand. "Um… excuse me… but I think there must be a mistake. I know everyone's playing by the rules now, but I… still don't really want to play this game…" He says and it seems his opponent is Faust, Zaccaria's thunder guardian.

"You were chosen therefore you have no choice," the Cervello says as suddenly a large bubble appears around the entire main plaza, set up by people around the mall.

"Wait a minute! That's not fair! Then I wish to concede!" Ren yells however once more they don't listen.

Faust shakes his arms a little like a warm-up. "I don't really mind if you stand still… makes the win easier."

"Now then… let the first match of the ring conflict… BEGIN!" They yell raising their hand and a bell rings signaling the beginning of the fight.


	34. Raise the shining pillar

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 34: Raise the shining pillar**

"Let the first match of the ring conflict… BEGIN!" The Cervello yell starting the fight between Ren from team Kotsukiba and Faust from team Zaccaria. Faust is about to attack when Ren holds out his hands.

"Wait! I surrender!" he tries and Faust tilts his head.

"Alright. Guess that was easy…" He says and turns around.

Zaccaria tsks at Faust's unknowingness. "Hey Faust! He's not allowed to surrender! So beat him! Don't fall for it,"

Faust turns again shrugging. "Oh… guess it can't be helped then," He says and holds his hands in an x shape in front of himself and Ren notes a green ring on his finger. It ignites with green lightning. Then flames seem to spread across his arms and they turn metallic green. "It shouldn't take long anyway," He says jumping forward.

"H-hey now. I said I don't want to fight," Ren tries, but Faust comes in close and hits downwards making Ren jump to the side and Faust's fist makes a large hole in the floor. Ren gulps. 'How'd he know I would dodge? Reborn-san said they play by the rules!' he thinks and Reborn grits his teeth a bit.

"This is bad…" Kotsu grabs his sleeve.

"Bad!? What do you mean bad?! Is Ren going to die!?" Kotsu yells and Reborn shakes his head.

"Not likely. You're not allowed to kill each other… What worries me is that I never knew if any of the rumors about Faust were true. According to some doctors at the Vongola branches where Faust has been stationed they've never seen him. Not even for a check-up. In other words. He's never been injured. And looking at that metal armor… it seems to be true. It's a fact… if anyone in the world who deserves the name invincible… it's Faust," Reborn explains and Kotsu gulps looking at Zaccaria, Ywan and their guardians.

"D-do they all have legends like that?" Reborn nods slowly.

"They do. Each of them is incredible in their own right," Kotsu starts getting slightly teary eyed looking at Ren as he keeps dodging Faust's attacks.

"Could you stand still or something?" Faust says in his indifferent voice, but as he expected Ren keeps dodging.

"I told you I don't like fighting even if it's just for a game like this," He says with a nervous smile as Faust keeps attacking.

Kotsu gets a bit teary. He finally got his happy older brother back and now he's going to lose him if he figures out it's for real.

"Ren… please…" Kotsu says as he starts crying. Faust starts getting closer and closer to actually hitting him. Ren sees his little brother crying and he grits his teeth.

"Lil' bro… don't cry. It's just a game right?," He says removing his attention for just a second and Faust lands a solid hit right in Ren's stomach sending him flying across the arena into the bubble right next to Kotsu.

"Heeey… I finally got him," Faust says smiling a little bit.

Ren's quite confused as he stands. "He… actually hit me… that hurt… H-hey! That's against the rules isn't it?!" He yells to Cervello and they simply shake their heads.

"I do not see anything wrong with hitting your opponent to knock them out. That is indeed how a fight works," She says and Ren looks confused, angry… many other emotions at once looking back to Kotsu, but right as he does Faust comes in with another solid punch and Ren gets pushed into the bubble which is quite squishy. Faust jumps back a bit and Ren falls to his knees.

Ren once more slowly gets up as he wipes the blood off his lip after spitting a bit from Faust's punch. At this moment he finally realizes. He had had this feeling after seeing Kotsu battle Geraldino, but he was just denying it… it was too… unreal to fit into his life… "This… this is for real isn't it…? It's been like that since the very first day…" He says slowly. He thinks back to the time he saw Tsugemora fight Veleno getting stabbed. Those needles were real… like the poison in them. He remembers 'playing' with Neve and Cenere. Those blades were real… they were really trying to kill him. Murphy fighting Salvatori… he could've really been shot. Ren feels disappointed in himself. Just a game? Get a grip. It was way too realistic to be a game. He should've tried to stop it. Every time… but those things aren't the things he's most disappointed of. He looks back at Kotsu who's crying for real also. He knows Ren could be in danger. He wants to do all the things for real. Save Cotton and all his friends. Keep them from danger… and he… he got angry at him for it. He made him sad without knowing the full story. The ring he got. He threw it away because he thought it was just a game… but it wasn't… not even close!

"Ren… please… don't die…" Kotsu cries and Ren's eyes widen. His little brother's sad because he's such a fool!

Ren turns to him turning his back to Faust. This causes him to tilt his head.

"Um… h-hey…?" He tries but Ren isn't listening.

Ren suddenly falls to his knees and slams his head as hard as he can against the ground beneath him causing him to start bleeding from his forehead. "KOTSU! I'M SO SORRY! I'VE BEEN A HORRIBLE BIG BROTHER!" He yells off the top of his lungs as tears run down his face.

"R-Ren…" Kotsu says slowly as he also realizes that Ren is now fully aware of how real this is.

"I thought it was all some kind of game and I was so happy that you'd finally made friends, but you were in real danger and I did nothing to help you. I just sat back watching as Geraldino tried to kill you. I should've done something. Anything! And when I finally did I did it all wrong! I shouldn't've tried to stop you! It's YOUR life… NOT MINE! I should do my best to support you in everything you do!" He yells and both Hibari and Reborn smirk slightly. "T-That's… that's what a big brother is supposed to do," He adds says and Kotsu starts crying too.

"Ren… you're my big brother… d-don't kneel like that. I look up to you… not the other way around… even when you tell me I'm wrong or when I get mad at you or the other way around… I still want to be a good person like you… so don't kneel…"

"I have to. I shouldn't be allowed to ever look you in the eyes ever again,"

Faust looks back at Zaccaria. "What'm I supposed to do?"

Zaccaria tsks again. "Attack him idiot," He simply says and Faust seems to realize.

"Oh… I thought he was in timeout," He says and jumps at Ren hardening his fist as he winds it back.

"Kotsu… I will make it up to you. I promise," Ren says and his demeanor changes from sad to a much more angry one than he's ever been. He stands up and doesn't even glance back. "You… thanks to you my little brother's worried about me!" He yells and without even seeing where Faust is he suddenly jumps to the side spinning the opposite way and kicks Faust directly in the face with so much force the bubble waves slightly from the force of the impact due to the shock. Faust goes flying back to his own side of the giant bubble doing several backflips on the way. He lands and shakes his head, somehow looking completely fine.

"Woah… that really hurt…" he thinks and Ricci's eyes widen.

"That's the most insane kicking force I've ever seen. He didn't even use a box weapon or anything!"

Boris tsks. "I can kick harder than that…" he says pouting and Zaccaria nods.

"Yeah… but not with precision and speed like that. I think he might even have you beat in brute strength of his kick," Boris grits his teeth and flexes to prove his strength.

On Ywan's side he thinks for a moment. 'That kick… with such strength… it seems familiar somehow,' Ywan thinks looking at Ren. The person in question gets rid of his shirt in an instance.

Faust jumps towards him again with a hardened fist. Ren tries the same tactic again and Faust ducks under the kick. "No offense, but the same trick won't wo-" He starts but he's cut short by another kick from Ren's other foot and he's hit back again.

"That boy is quite powerful I must say," Kagetora says from the sideline. Faust notes something about Ren since he's standing with his leg out in kicking position with perfect balance. 'his legs are pretty long…' he notes and Ren starts stepping back and forth. 'A kick strong enough to make things sway from impact. With so much precision. And speed… there's only ever been one person like that!' Zaccaria thinks at the very same moment as Ywan as both of them realize what they're reminded of. 'The fourth-generation sun guardian. Amando!' they think.

Kotsu looks to Reborn. "D-did you know he would actually start fighting?"

Reborn nods. "He was chosen as the sun guardian for a reason," Kotsu punches Reborn on the arm. He doesn't even react except by looking at him strangely.

"Why'd you punch me?"

"H-he might've been wrong and regret it… but that's my big brother. He… he…" He starts.

 **-NII-**

He thinks back to a long time ago when he was nine. He just came home from school and has a black eye. A young eleven-year-old Ren comes running to greet him, but his look changes when he sees Kotsu's eye.

"Lil' bro! What happened?!" He says and Kotsu starts crying a bit.

"I got into a fight…" He says sniffling and Ren hugs him and smiles.

"Don't do that lil' bro. Fighting is bad. It just leads to more fighting. You should laugh it off whenever someone wants to fight and walk away," He says and smiles and Kotsu nods slowly.

"Okay big brother,"

 **-NII-**

Kotsu looks at Ren in the arena as he keeps fighting Faust. "That's not who he's supposed to be! He's nice and doesn't like to hurt people… but now he's fighting because of me. He's doing the very thing he hates the most!"

Reborn shakes his head. "Wrong. You're not seeing the bigger picture. Ren despises fighting. True. But there's one more thing he hates even more… seeing his little brother crying."

Faust attacks again but as soon as he comes close Ren delivers a strong kick forcing him to but up his arms to block pushing him back towards Zaccaria's side of the bubble. Ren meanwhile starts sweating from moving so intensely, but he just wipes it off. He then jumps forward and Faust prepares a punch once more and swings at Ren who ducks down kicking Faust's fist upwards and then spinning into a breakdance windmill move swiping Faust off his feet before placing one foot down and kicking up sending Faust flying across the arena again. The ladder lands and slides a bit, however he still looks completely unharmed.

Reborn nods. "He really is the perfect example of a sun guardian,"

Kotsu meanwhile has chosen to put aside his anger and watch Ren's fight. "Why's REN the perfect sun guardian?"

"The sun guardian is the pillar that stands tall, always. It destroys any misfortune with its own body and always shines brightly. Ren is the perfect example of that. His kind attitude is always there to support anyone and his body is incredibly strong from his years of training breakdancing. Despite what people think breakdancing isn't just about strength, but also durability. When doing certain moves in breakdancing it puts a lot of pressure on the body. Having done it for so long Ren's bones must be incredibly strong. And thanks to that training his sense of balance is also amazing. That's how he can keep swinging his leg at Faust continuously," Reborn explains and Kotsu looks at Ren. 'So this is… Ren when he's fighting…'


	35. The strong has purpose

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 35: "The strong have purpose"**

Faust and Ren are fighting in the first fight of the ring conflict. Ren jumps forward and keeps swinging his legs at Faust who easily blocks each strike with his hardened skin. Ren gets in close and does a straight kick and as soon as it's blocked Ren retracts his leg spinning and kicks Faust's block to the side then runs up his body and jumps into the air making Faust fall and Ren spins coming down with an incredible strong kick. However Faust hardens his stomach and isn't hurt as a result. Ren jumps back and tsks in annoyance. It seems that no matter how hard he kicks Faust isn't even fazed…

Faust stands up and crack his neck. "Man… your kicks are something else…" he says before he starts charging again. The two keep exchanging blows with Ren getting hit around as Faust is completely immune to Ren's attacks.

"This isn't good. I don't know if Ren can win," Reborn says and Kotsu grits his teeth.

"You mean he's going to lose?"

"Even a herbivore will show its fangs if it's threatened enough," Hibari says behind them.

Everyone turns to him with a wondering expression on their face. "Tell us then Hibari. What did you mean?" Hibari looks at Ren as he seems to be struggling a bit.

"He had no intention of fighting me from the very first day of training. But I noticed something when I kept attacking him…" He says and everyone gulps a little. "I wasn't getting tired at all. I then realized that Ren… gives off an aura of sun flames constantly. He heals everyone around him slowly. I've never seen anything like it before. He has an incredible quantity of sun flames inside him. They're leaking out everywhere… but… he has ONE thing that can absorb those flames," He says holding up his finger and Reborn realizes and looks towards Ren.

"His shoes…"

"His shoes?" Kotsu repeats earning him a smack on the head.

"That's what I just said…"

"Give him enough time and I'm sure he'll show you something quite incredible…" Hibari chuckles.

Ren dodges another attack from Faust. He counterattacks and Faust slides back. Ren runs over sliding under Faust's punch in between his legs and goes into a split and spins trying to knock Faust off his feet but he jumps and prepares a kick and Ren kicks directly up supporting himself with his hands and the two connect directly with each others feet. Ren pushes Faust back.

"This is getting annoying. I'm going to end it now if you don't mind," Faust says and raises both of his hands again and clenches his fists as they spark with electricity. Green electricity. The thunder flame. He charges at Ren again and as Ren tries blocking he's shot back from electricity. Ren slides across the plaza again.

"For just a short time he can charge his arms with electricity. Interesting," Albert says on Ywan's side of the arena with a smirk. Faust attacks again and Ren is forced to keep dodging. As he jumps back landing on his hands he spin-kicks at Faust just punches without concern and Ren is once more electrified. He tumbles across the ground and Kotsu gets teary-eyed watching him get beaten around.

"Ren… I hate this. I don't want to do this anymore!" He yells and Ren stands up.

"Don't worry lil' bro. I've got this. Just let your big brother handle this one for now," He says and takes a wide stance placing his hand on the ground while the other is on his back. He exhales heavily and Faust seems to be quite confused.

"What're you doing?"

"The same as you… ending this," he says before he starts spinning on his back on the ground really fast and he adds a bit of shoulder slowly turning it into a windmill move. He keeps spinning and Kotsu notes that his shoes start glowing yellow.

"What's… that?" Kyoya-sensei smirks.

"You'll see. Though I think he's only going by instinct at this point,"

After spinning Ren stands up with his right shoe still glowing. Faust tries attacking again, but Ren jumps over it. He lands on his left leg and starts spinning again.

Faust charges him again. "No matter how hard you kick it can't harm me," He simply says winding back his fist again.

"We'll see. TAKE… THIS!" Ren yells right before his foot is right behind him. "TAIYOFU!" (Japanese for solar wind) He yells as he kicks at Faust with insane speed as his shoe glows yellow with sun flames and he hits Faust dead on sending him flying back smashing against the bubble which then bounces him into the ground knocked out.

"W-what happened!?" almost everyone yells as they're surprised by Ren's special attack.

Hibari looks at the panting Ren. "It's something I noted when he kept dodging. When he exercises or in my case kept dodging and moving around his sun flames slowly get absorbed into his shoes and he released them just now. While it takes a while to charge it looks like an almost a guaranteed one-hit-kill," He says and the Cervello hold out their hands.

"The first match is concluded. Winner: Ren Niruo," they say jumping to a pedestal with three large signs with Kotsu, Zaccaria and Ywan's faces on them and they put up a green circle on Kotsu's sun sign and a red X on Zaccaria's thunder sign.

The bubble disappears and Ren is met with Kotsu's crying little self, jumping at him.

"REEEEN! I was so worried…" He says sniffling and Ren hugs him tightly.

"I'm sorry lil' bro. I've been such a jerk lately,"

Kotsu sniffs. "It's alright… I forgive you… it is a bit absurd…" He says whipping off his tears.

Ywan tsks. "Defeated by a mere civilian? Seems he wasn't as invincible as they say," Ywan states with a little smirk however looking at Faust he doesn't look injured, but simply knocked out.

Zaccaria angrily stomps up and kicks Faust. "You lost to a simple civilian! You're USELESS!" He yells as he kicks him his guardians looking away.

"H-HEY!" Kotsu yells taking a step forward. "Stop that! He did his best to win!"

"So what!? If he doesn't win then what's he worth!?" He yells and drags Faust off tossing him at his other guardians who all catch him.

"As for our second match today we will see Zaccaria's rain guardian facing Ywan's mist guardian. Will the two participants please step forward?"

On Zaccaria's side Kagetora steps forward taking a bow. "I am prepared," He says holding his hand to the sheathe of his knife. Ywan's mist guardian also steps forward. He's another old man this time with a long thin mustache, holding a cane.

"So I see Kagetora… or should I perhaps instead call you Emilio?" He says walking in.

"I cast that name aside long ago Pietro-san… I am Kagetora, the shadow tiger ninja." He says doing a handsign in overdramatic fashion.

"Still a child it seems. You were unfit for the shadow division either way. Have you improved at all since we last met?" He says tapping his cane against the ground as the bubble appears around them.

"A true ninja never stops improving. So the answer is clear!"

As the match is about to begin Kotsu takes Ren to the side as Ren's injured from his fight and quite exhausted on top of that. "I'm sorry lil' bro…"

Kotsu just smiles. "I know… I'm sorry too…"

"What for!? I'm the one who made you sad,"

Kotsu chuckles a little. "I'm sorry for forcing you to fight… I know how much you despise fighting,"

Ren also chuckles a bit. "No worries… if it's for you… then I'll fight again… even if I don't like it…" He says with a smile. "The way you put it… I think that fighting for someone like you… will result in less fighting for others… so I'll gladly take those fights upon me…" He says smiling at the ceiling.

Reborn clears his throat. "Klutsu… you ought to watch this fight," He says and Kotsu gets up to see what's happening.

Kagetora begins the bout by charging straight at Pietro who simply taps his cane against the ground and smoke shoots out from the bottom of it. Kagetora jumps into the air over it. "Your style is the same as always Pietro-san," Kagetora says before he falls into the mist grabbing his knife, not able to see much inside.

"What's happening?! I can't see anything with this mist…" Kotsu complains as Ren slowly stands again.

"I… think that's the point lil' bro,"

Inside the mist Pietro taps his cane again. "You may believe yourself to be sneaky Emilio… but with you in my mist… I can feel your every breath. Your every sound and heartbeat!" He yells and taps his cane again and Kagetora suddenly feels something approach and slashes at it. It's a massive snake and he slices it clean in two right down the jaw and along the body. It evaporates when he's done.

"But an illusion it seems…" He says and feels more things attack him.

"You stand no chance Emilio! You are a failure! Just as your parents were!"

Kagetora grits his teeth behind his mask as he jumps out of the way of another attack. "Do NOT speak of my parents so casually Pietro-san! You may be the illusionist trainer of our family, and the one who expelled me from the shadow division… but you do not hold the right to talk so casually about my parents! I will end this!" He yells as he does a few handsigns like a real ninja. "AME YUREI NO JUTSU!" (Japanese: rain ghost technique) He yells as he's covered in a thin layer of rain flames and Pietro takes a step back.

"W-what is this!? You… you've disappeared! How can I not sense you!?"

At this Zaccaria can't help but snicker. "You did quite wrong in expelling him from the shadow division! Kagetora has gotten a reputation for himself without you guys! The ghost of the rain! In dampness or places with lowered visibility he is completely invisible!" He yells to Ywan mostly who grits his teeth.

"Pietro! You had better defeat him or I will be disappointed in you!"

"I will master Ywan!" He yells tapping his cane again making tons of needles and spikes shoot in all directions inside the mist to make sure he hits him.

Kagetora speeds around not making a sound when running he keeps dodging every spike tossing a kunai-knife every once in a while at Pietro who feels them coming and he moves aside to dodge them. "You are a fool Kagetora! I can now predict your movement! A simple circle! Or perhaps…" He says tapping his cane against the ground and a large pillar of fire shoots up from right around Kagetora whereafter a snake shoots out of the ground beneath him wrapping itself around him. "that is simply what you wanted me to think…" He says looking up at him as he's raised above the mist for everyone to see.

"You see now Zaccaria!? Your guardians are nothing to mine!"

"Is that so…?" Zaccaria says and smirks. "I guess a win and a loss isn't so bad for the first day…" He says shrugging.

"What are you blabbing about…?" He says before there's a sudden change in the arena. The five kunai knives Kagetora threw have imbedded themselves around the mist in a pentagram.

Kagetora does a handsign again and they all light up. "This is over Pietro-san! KIRISAME NO JUTSU!" (Japanese: drizzle technique) He declares and on the ground in between the five kunai knives a pentagram forms written in blue rain flames and suddenly all the mist turns into rain drops and blast down at incredible speed knocking Pietro into the ground and the illusions slowly disappear allowing Kagetora to leap off the snake and he prepares a stab with his knife however right at the last second he switches it and hammers it into Pietro's back knocking him out. "I do not wish to kill you Pietro-san. You may have abandoned me… but you were STILL my master… However you lack purpose to your strength Pietro-san. I fight to honor my late parents… and for my dear squad… remember that Pietro-san… the strong have purpose…" He says walking away as the bubble vanishes.

Kotsu gulps seeing the fight end and Kagetora get greeted by Ricci whom he simply ignores. "Those two were… so strong…"

"That's right… they were all chosen for their strengths and relation to their respective boss candidate… can't say the same for all your guardians…" Reborn says crossing his arms as the Cervello once more hang up a green circle, this time on Zaccaria's rain symbol and a red x on Ywan's mist guardian.

"The winner of the second battle is Zaccaria's rain guardian Emilio…" They start when Kagetora glares at them. "Or as he prefers to be called… Kagetora!" They then clap their hands. "We will now move onto the final round. This one between Ywan's rain guardian and Kotsukiba's storm guardian! Will the two participants please step forward…?" They say and Albert steps forward smirking as he appears to be fiddling with something. He drops a suitcase right at the edge of where the arena would be.

Kotsu looks around for his storm guardian however he can't see anyone who seems to want to take a step forward. "Um… excuse me I don't know if he's here…" He says and the Cervello nod.

"If that is the case then you will automatically lose the battle…" However it is then that the glass roof above them suddenly caves in as the sound of a helicopter above them riffles and a ladder comes down. On it is a man with long brown spiky hair and a sky flame on his forehead wearing a large cape with the vongola insignia on it along with two others. A grey-haired man in a suit and another man with short black hair and a katana on his back.

"Hold that thought please Cervello!" He yells as they get off the ladder onto the ground and the ladder goes up again.

"Neo Primo-san… what brings you here?" They say and Kotsu looks quite taken aback.

"Y-YOU'RE Primo-san!?" He yells as he definitely expected someone who looked a bit scarier.

Primo looks at him with a kind smile. "Indeed… I am Primo. Neo Primo to be exact… and I simply thought it'd be appropriate to come and watch the ring conflict… and also I had someone who needed to be delivered… so why not kill two birds with one stone…?" He says walking to Kotsu's side only making the two young boys feel even more frightened by the presence of these large intimidating men.

Kotsu gulps. "B-but I have so many questions Primo-san!?"

"You can ask them later child!" Ywan yells looking at Primo almost with disgust. "I am growing impatient! Who was it you wanted to deliver?"

Upon hearing these words someone in the chopper above them smirks. "Are you ready my lady…?" He asks in quite a mature manner for such a young voice.

"YEAH!" A lighter pitched voice yells and the person jumps out of it and the chopper takes off. Kotsu looks up seeing the person fall and he lands in the superhero landing. Kotsu immediately wonders how he survived such a long fall. He stands up straight. He looks about 13 years old same as Kotsu with short light-pink hair almost seeming a very light brown. He's wearing a dark-green and blue button-up shirt, decorated with a few golden buttons as well as a logo which isn't the Vongola family's logo and some simple black jeans.

Kotsu looks back and forth between this new person and Reborn and Primo "W-who is THAT!?"


	36. Marco and Cotton: Double tornados

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 36: Marco and Cotton: Double tornados**

Primo has just arrived by chopper all the way from Italy to watch the matches of the ring conflict and a strange boy has appeared in the arena. He's holding something in his arms. "Are you unhurt my lady?" He asks and a little red ball jumps up landing on top of his head. Kotsu naturally recognizes it as Cotton.

"Cotton! What're you doing here!?" Cotton puts her hand in her onesie pulling out a red ring, which Kotsu recognizes the guardian storm ring.

"Because of THIS Mortal-kun!" She declares laughing her signature laugh.

"Y-YOU'RE my guardian!? T-then who's that!?" He tries and the boy holds up his hand showing that he too has a storm ring.

"I too am your storm guardian,"

"But I'M the most important one Marco-kun!" Cotton yells and the boy, now revealed to be named Marco, chuckles a little patting her on the head.

"Of course my lady…"

For once Kotsu isn't the only one who's stunned. Both Zaccaria, Ywan and even the Cervello seem surprised.

Ywan angrily grits his teeth and takes out his dagger mostly for effect rather than use. "What is the meaning of this Primo!? You cannot appoint TWO people to the same position even if one of them is but a child! YOUR thunder guardian was but a child as well and Vongola Nono surely did not appoint someone else to accompany him!" He yells and the grey-haired boy holds his arm forward which has a scary-looking skull cannon on it.

"Lower your weapon when speaking to the 10th or I will consider it an act of treason," he says and Ywan doesn't budge. However Primo just lowers his bodyguard's weapon.

"It is quite alright Gokudera… then please Ywan… by all means… tell me where it is written that I cannot appoint two people to the same position…? As far as I can see the council is also comprised of multiple people. Even if they all perform the same task. Is that not right?" He says overflowing with confidence.

"This is different from the council! This is a clear violation of the rules set up by my… by OUR predecessors!" He adds and Zaccaria just smirks.

"You're just jealous because YOU didn't think of it! If you did I bet you'd have 12 guardians instead of six!" He yells and Ywan points his knife at Zaccaria.

"You be quiet child! I am NOT to be trifled with!" He yells and the Cervello break in.

"Enough of this chatter please. We have contacted HQ and they have confirmed no rule stating against this. Not only that… but they have found an example of this happening before. Therefore it is safe for Marco-san and Cotton-san to both be Kotsukiba's storm guardians… but next time Primo-sama… please inform us of any odd decisions beforehand…" They say and Ywan puts his knife away having no say as it seems someone's already had two guardians at one point in time.

"Well… I do have one other thing to tell you of in that case, however let us take that after tonight shall we?" He says and Albert, Marco and Cotton's opponent just laughs.

"It matters not to me whether I have one, two or TEN opponents! I will destroy you all!"

Cotton jumps forward and Marco holds out his hand to catch her. "You cannot defeat the mightiest Cotton-heika!" She yells not even acknowledging her companion in this fight.

"Indeed. I will do my best to secure victory as well," Marco says bowing kindly Albert grits his teeth almost annoyed with them.

"I'm fine with fighting some random old guy and his little sidekick!" He says smirking and Cotton jumps forward on the ground in front of Marco.

"I am NOT a sidekick! HE is the sidekick!" She yells pouting and Marco picks her up and gently pats her on the head.

"There there my lady… do not let mere words get to you… we will take care of this man," He says and puts Cotton onto his shoulder where she can hold on tight.

Albert gets a bit annoyed that he seems to be getting underestimated as Marco takes a rather ordinary fighting stance from karate it seems. The bubble appears signaling the beginning of the bout.

"I will show you not to underestimate me!" he yells clasping some large metal object onto his arm. It's a giant gauntlet which appears almost like a shield shape with a large blue gem on the middle as well as on the end of each of the six spikes at the edges of the shield shape.

"It seems our opponent is using some kind of box weapon…" Marco comments to his lady however Albert just shakes his hand.

"You dare think this is a box weapon? Nah I tell you! This is a weapon of my own invention! It is in fact more like a ring than a box weapon!" He yells and channels his rain flame into the weapon. The main gem lights up and so do the spikes on the edge and it starts moving around a little. "Let's see you handle this…" He says before punching forward and the gauntlet stretches out with all the little segments with spikes function as thrusters to blast it forward and Marco ducks under the attack and attempts to knee Albert in the stomach while holding Cotton firmly however he hits something hard and grits his teeth in pain. "You think I would enter a brawl without protection!? I am no brute who relies on pure force!" He swings the large gauntlet into Marco sending him tumbling but he seems more concerned with keeping Cotton safe than anything, which it seems she is inside the meat-shield surrounding her.

"Marco-kun… are you okay?" She asks and Marco stands and tickles her a little.

"If you are safe my lady then I guarantee that I am…"

Albert grits his teeth and points the gauntlet forward and punches again and this time it's a bit faster. Marco doesn't really have time to react and so only manages to throw Cotton into the air as he's flung backwards. He rolls along the ground a bit before recovering quite quickly for a man his age. He catches Cotton as she falls screaming like the little girl she is. Marco looks back to Albert before jumping back as the fist comes flying again. Albert simply keeps attacking them with the long range fist constantly running towards them to close the distance and make it faster to hit them.

"You see now!? You are too focused on protecting that little shrimp to counter my attacks! This was a HUGE mistake appointing such a weakling as the second guardian!" He yells before the six spikes in the gauntlet shoot themselves into the ground and the blue gem raises itself up and it begins glowing. "But you cannot dodge THIS!" The gem blasts a large blue laser beam straight at them two of them. Too big to avoid. Marco quickly sees this. Marco spins around letting the giant laser beam directly hit him in the back and he attempts to stand his ground, but eventually he's pushed forward having his entire shirt's back destroyed and he's pushed along the ground as the beam stops once more dropping Cotton, the little girl tumbling further than him. He slowly looks up to see her come running towards him.

"Are you unhurt my lady…?" He asks and Cotton tries pulling him up, but he's much too heavy for her to carry.

"Get up Marco-kun! We need to beat this mortal!" She yells and Marco slowly manages to get to his knees.

"My apologies my lady… but I am quite weak at the moment… I believe it is your time to shine…" He says taking out a little red ball with little green and deeper red strands in it handing it to the young girl, right as Albert's gauntlet once more connects with Marco's back sending him flying into the bubble.

"Marco-kun!" Cotton yells looking after him before looking back to Albert angrily puffing her cheeks to look as big as she can.

"W-what's that ball he gave to her?" Kotsu asks and someone behind them answers.

"It's something I made when I trained her at home…" Jute says walking up to the side of them. Now Kotsu has almost OFFICIALLY had it! HOW MANY STRONG AND TALL GUYS ARE GOING TO COME JOIN THEM! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

"A-and what is it…?"

Reborn clears his throat. "You remember the legend I told you about the Rosa Rossa family Klutsu?" He asks and Kotsu slowly nods.

"W-what about it?"

"Cotton hasn't learned how to willingly use her burning hair yet… but I found out thanks to your mom making some spicy food to eat that hot food makes you feel like your mouth is burning. So I made the spiciest thing I could, that ball there, and it worked…" He says and Cotton angrily looks to Albert before popping the ball in her mouth eating it with quite a sour face. "Red peppers, chili, curry, I just threw everything I could in there. Cotton will be able to use her ability for about five minutes…"

Cotton gets all red in her face as her hair slowly starts moving before bursting out everywhere in a shower of fire, which Kotsu recognizes as dying will flames of the storm variety. "BURNING HAIR! ACTIVATE!" She yells trying to look all cool and epic in her new form, but she still looks small and cute.


	37. Cotton and the burning hair

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 37: Cotton and the burning hair**

Kotsu has just seen Cotton activate her burning hair for the first time, introducing him to the concept of the burning hair. He looks absolutely stunned at how Cotton looks now. Granted she looks cooler than before, but she's still just a little girl.

Albert is the same looking unfazed and he simply points his gauntlet forward. "You think adding storm flames to your hair is impressive! I've studied your family heritage! I know all about the nature of your ability!" he yells winding his gauntlet back before it blasts forward at Cotton, who jumps onto it with a quite impressive speed taking Albert by surprise as the little girl runs up the stretched out arm. "What's this!?" Albert yells retracting the gauntlet as Cotton once more jumps spinning around doing lots of frontflips as she flaming storm hair wraps itself around her.

"I-Isn't this bad!? Storm flames' trait is disintegration! She's going to kill herself!"

However Jute assures him calmly. "Burning hair of storm doesn't affect the user. I would know as I'm a storm user as well."

Albert doesn't have time to retract the gauntlet completely before Cotton smashes into his face. "COTTON-HEIKA'S SUPER SPECIAL MOVE: SPINNING BALL OF DEATH!" she yells and Albert quickly pushes himself away after it seems her attack keeps going.

"I'll admit that took me off guard…" He says wipping the blood off his cheek. "I don't recall the burning hair ability granting any boost to the users physical abilities…" However in the time he has to say that Cotton's already closing the distance between them. She jumps at him. "COTTON-HEIKA'S SUPER SPECIAL MOVE: SPINNING BALL OF DEATH!" However this time Albert has his gauntlet back and he moves it up to block the attack as it's coated in rain flames and the tranquility aspect negates Cotton's storm flames. He easily launches her back.

"You think you can defeat ME you foolish child! You are just like my own son!" He yells however quickly notes that Cotton's hair is stuck to his gauntlet so she didn't fly far as she simply bounces back and she climbs over the gauntlet jumping at him now that he can't block the attack with his gauntlet. She lands on his face and starts scratching him in the face, which more pisses him off than anything. He grabs her with his free hand getting a sharp pain from having to touch pure storm flames but he manages to toss her off. She bounces along the ground turning into a ball to lessen the fall and she instantly charges at him again.

"W-why's she so fast all of the sudden? I know she's a wild one, but she's not this fast… and Albert said it wasn't the burning hair…" Kotsu asks confused and Jute once more fills them in.

"That's actually the most normal part of this. She just ate something really spicy… so her body's going into overdrive to cool her down… she really is a textbook definition of a type two fighter…" He says making Kotsu even more confused. What's he talking about NOW!?

"What's a type two fighter?"

"Later Kotsu," Primo says as he's attempting to focus on the fight and Kotsu is instantly silenced.

Cotton keeps launching at the large man and since she's so small he's having quite a bit of trouble with hitting her with the large gauntlet. It's clearly not designed to fight small foes. "Just… GET KNOCKED OUT! You annoying little pest!" He yells as he switches the gauntlet to the cannon form and starts shooting large lasers at Cotton, but she's too fast for them to hit her however he just keeps firing. "You are but a hinderance! Just like my own son! You're nothing but a means to an end!" He yells angrily clearly venting some frustrations. Ricci from Zaccaria's team grits his teeth angrily hearing him say such things.

However Cotton's not listening. She just keeps up her constant attacks much to Albert's annoyance. "Not only is she a textbook type two fighter… she's also a very nice storm guardian…" Reborn starts. "The storm guardian's role is to be the center of any attack, never ceasing until the enemy is gone. Her state right now very nicely encapsulates that description…" Kotsu thinks for a moment before looking at Marco who's still laying on the ground a bit away knocked out wondering what Primo was thinking appointing a man like him to his guardian team when Cotton fits the role all by herself… and it seems Reborn is the same way. "But there's no way you could've known she would become someone who fit that description. And why give her a bodyguard on top of it,"

Primo lets on a little smirk. "You'll see…"

Reborn smacks him in the back of the head. "Only I'm allowed to say that no-good-Tsuna," He says and Primo chuckles a little nervously as it seems his bodyguards don't really do anything about the fact that Primo was just hit. Just how strong is Reborn…?

"I think I've earned the privilege…"

Albert blocks another of Cotton's attacks with his gauntlet and pushes her into the air. "You won't be able to dodge THIS!" He yells firing another laser into the air hitting her dead on however much to everyone's surprise it's stopped by some kind of barrier. "COTTON-HEIKA'S SUPER SPECIAL MOVE: TORNADO OF TERROR!" She yells spinning around in the air, her hair forming a sort of large shield of storm flames that perfectly nullify Albert's rain flame. After the laser disappears the gauntlet needs a few seconds to recharge so Albert's forced to dodge as she comes down with another attack. "You… you little brat… you think you can defeat ME!? I am Albert! Leader of the Vongola family's research and development. Inventor extraordinaire! And I will never let one of my inventions be beaten by a little girl. Maximum overdrive activate!" He yells pulling a lever back on the underside of the gauntlet and the gem glows much harder as it turns into the cannon, but this time it's sparkling as if it's on the verge of breaking. "TAKE THIS!" he yells firing the laser which is now much smaller, but also much more powerful than the last and with more power concentrated on fewer area. Cotton attempts to block it with her hair but it doesn't quite work out and she's flung back as her burning hair disappears. She crashes into the bubble falling to the ground knocked out looking quite pained. She lays right in front of Ywan who looks down at her annoyed.

"Pathetic… why would you be chosen?"

"COTTON!" Kotsu yells worried that she's alright, but he suddenly feels quite a ominous presence coming from Jute. It's clear he's unhappy with seeing Cotton get hurt but there's nothing he can do.

Albert laughs lightly at his achievement. It starts as a mere chuckle before turning into full laughter. "You see that!? My invention is unbeatable!" He yells raising his gauntlet into the air and the Cervello are about to proclaim his victory.

"How dare you…? How dare you harm my lady…?" Marco says slowly getting up, Albert having completely forgotten about him.

"You again… you think you stand a chance against me all by yourself…?"

Marco grits his teeth as he stands. "How could you!? She is just a child! You will pay for harming my lady!" He yells angrily as a flame erupts on his forehead as his shirt bursts off from the burst of energy but it doesn't seem to concern him, and a bright red storm flame appears on his forehead.

"W-what is this!?" Albert says taking a step back as Marco charges towards him at intense speed with an even more intense stare.

"W-what's going on!? P-Primo!?" Kotsu tries looking at the current boss.

"That boy… Marco… He is the Rosa Rossa family's butler. He is a curious case… he can enter dying will mode at will… Much like me, however I have had years and years of training. Marco has never trained this ability…" He explains and Kotsu looks at him seeing the primal look in his eyes which he remembers people telling him that he had whenever he entered dying will mode.

Albert points the gauntlet at him and fires it off at max speed. Marco punches the gauntlet out of the way with an immensely powerful backhand. Marco gets in close looming over Albert with a cold almost demonic look in his eyes. "This is for hurting my lady you monster…" He icily states, his fist is wound back prepared to strike.


	38. End of day one

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 38: End of day one**

Marco's taken Albert completely by surprise with his new transformation and has gotten up close with likely the scariest sight he's ever seen of Marco's, so far gentle and kind, face, now warped to look angry beyond any reasonable measure. He bashes Albert in the stomach with all his might straight in the stomach and he's sent flying across the arena with much more force than when Kotsu's hit someone with his improved strength.

"H-he's so strong!" Kotsu yells surprised by the show of intense strength.

Murphy nods. "that's because it removes the physical limiters on your body, but Marco is much stronger normally than you are so his limiters are much higher up. Think of it as multiplying your strength by a number. Naturally if Marco's strength is bigger than yours he's going to also be stronger in dying will mode."

"G-got it,"

Albert tumbles a little before retracting his gauntlet and stopping himself with it. "I'll admit… you took me by surprise aga-" He starts but is interrupted as Marco is already almost caught up to him with his improved leg strength Albert manages to hold up his gauntlet using it as a shield again, but something strange happens. Marco's storm flame on his forehead almost latches onto Albert's gauntlet and the older man feels his strength start getting weakened. Marco gives the gauntlet a strong punch, and even with the rain flames lowering the impact of the attack Albert slowly gets pushed back. Marco pulls back his fist only to slam it forward again sending Albert sliding back again and Marco keeps up his string of deadly punches. "What is with this man!?" Albert yells as he keeps blocking, now having to use his gauntlet without much rain flame to avoid whatever it was that just happened with Marco's flame. However it's still happening just as effectively and Albert knows that if he attempts to block without the rain flame block his gauntlet will be smashed to pieces.

"That boy's strength is remarkable…" Ywan says from the sideline. "However brute force and a tenacious attitude will not defeat Albert… not by a long shot," He adds with a smirk and his guardians snicker a little.

On Zaccaria's side, Zaccaria seems upset at what's happening for some reason even though his team is not involved in the fight in any way. "This won't end good for Kotsukiba's guardian…" He comments looking to Ricci. "Your father is too smart to let himself be beaten like that right?"

Ricci grits his teeth. "Yeah… but I'd've loved to watch that jerk of an old man get pummeled a bit… but I guess I might have to do that myself when it comes to that…" He says and Zaccaria looks back to the fight.

"So long as you follow the rules you can do whatever you want,"

Meanwhile in the arena Albert keeps attempting to create distance between him and his opponent, but Marco's incredibly persistent and he seems to keep leeching Albert's flame with his own. "What's with you? You believe you can defeat me with these simplistic strikes alone. My gauntlet can take way more power than you can dish out!" He yells however right as he does Marco's flame flares up a bit in a quick burst and he manages to hit through the gauntlet and send Albert tumbling back. However Albert uses this opportunity to get further away and he activates his laser cannon blasting it at Marco who simply sprints straight through it without much hinderance. However as Marco gets in close again Albert starts going on the offense with his gauntlet, dodging Marco's strikes as well as throwing calculated strikes at him right back without having to use his rain flame which Marco can destroy. However in spite of Albert's best efforts and the fact that he manages to stand his ground he still gets absolutely pummeled by Marco's flurry of punches while Marco seems barely affected by the gauntlet striking at him. Albert gives Marco one final strike with all his might, but even though Marco slides backwards a little he looks completely indifferent in spite of Albert giving it everything he had. Marco runs up with the cold dead stare and after the long one-on-one fistfight they just had Albert is completely exhausted and can't even raise the gauntlet to block the strike pretty much accepting his defeat… however just in that moment Marco's flame disappears causing the young man to revert back to normal. Albert's eyes sparkle with devilish delight as he gives the gauntlet one final full-body swing by spinning and smashes Marco back making him land right next to Cotton as they're both knocked out.

He then begins laughing again. "How fitting! The child and her protector! Both lying defeated in the same spot! How delightful!" He yells as the bubble disappears.

"The winner is Ywan's rain guardian Albert!" Albert's gauntlet detaches from his arm and folds together neatly.

Ywan looks to Primo with quite a displeased face. "How dare you defile the sacredness of the ring conflict with such poor excuses for guardians!?" He yells gritting his teeth. "If they were to somehow have I would have accepted it as fact, but as it stands you assigned two people who aren't more than the sum of their parts. Simply two people who barely qualify in the first place! Disgraceful!" He yells pulling out his knife again.

"I made my decision Ywan… and it is final. And no matter what you two believe…" he says dragging Zaccaria into it as well as he pats Kotsu on the head. "I believe in my candidate. He will bring about change… more than I ever could…"

"I have heard enough! This is disgraceful to my honor as a member of the Vongola family!" He yells raising his knife standing right over both Cotton and Marco. "To hell with these poor excuses for guardians!" He yells about to strike down at them.

"N-no! STOP!" Kotsu yells holding out his hand as Ywan strikes down at them with his sky flame-imbued knife. Both Reborn, Primo, as well as both of Primo's bodyguards look like they're all ready to stop him when suddenly Ywan's arm is stopped dead in its tracks. He looks up being met with a face showing absolutely no mercy. Jute.

"Unhand me!" He yells and Jute says nothing as his hair begins sparking with red storm flame erupting completely and all his braids release themselves revealing just how long it actually is. It moves around taking the form of a giant dragon. "I said unhand me! Do you not know who I am!?" He yells.

Jute remains stoic staring Ywan down. "If you attempt to harm my little sister again… I won't be this kind… You may like to think that you're important… but that only goes within the Vongola family… I am here on the behalf of the Rosa Rossa family… and I WILL kill you if you try something like that… again… This is your first and last warning…" he says letting go of Ywan picking up both Cotton and Marco carrying them back towards Kotsu looking very kind even with the giant dragon of hair looming over him.

Ren is almost in awe at how amazing Cotton's older brother is. That is the kind of big brother he NEEDS to be for Kotsu from now on…

However Ywan is not having it. "Y-you… how dare you…? You'll kill me? You cannot kill me! I am LEAGUES above you! I have been battling for my family since before you were in the womb! And I will NOT stand here and let a youngster put himself above me!" He yells stabbing at the air with his knife making it shoot a rather large ball of sky flames at Jute.

"Look out!" Kotsu yells however Jute simply spins on his heel stomping his foot on the ground seeming to take a deep breath. "RESPIRO DEL DRACO!" (Italian: dragon's breath) He yells and the giant dragon above him then blasts an immensely large stream of fire from its mouth, still made of storm flames and it swallows up Ywan's sky flame. Ywan takes a step backwards in fear seeing his death approaching with the fire, however a large bubble appears around him and his guardians, however even still the fire almost burns through it. But it disappears and Ywan grits his teeth now seeing that this man is no pushover. He's quite fairly a prodigy.

However Jute doesn't even seem to have spent much energy on the attack. "You two did very well… Especially you Cotton…" he says giving his little sister a light peck on the forehead and her pained expression becomes a little more happy.

"Jute Rossa!" the Cervello say. "We will not allow our candidates to die within the ring conflict. If you wish to kill Ywan you will have to wait until after the ring conflict,"

Jute just smiles back. "I don't. As I said… I gave him a warning," he says walking away with Cotton and Marco. "I will see you later… these two need some rest…" He says walking away with the two of them.

Ywan grits his teeth. "What a bothersome brat…"

However the Cervello interrupt him once more. "With this the first day of the ring conflict is officially over! The score has ended with all three participants at a single point each! You will be escorted back to your residents to avoid complications!" the two of them declare and another similar one appears next to each of the three groups and Zaccaria chuckles.

"Me or my guardians would never do a thing as stupid as trying to complicate things… like Ywan and his short temper would," he says with a smirk towards Ywan who simply grits his teeth.

"All I'm doing is preserving my honor as a member of this family," He says looking to Kotsu. For the first time deciding to bring up the time they met at the bench. "So it was you who was Primo's candidate? The game you spoke of… was this? And the two opponents you mentioned were me and Zaccaria. Is that right?" he asks and Kotsu slowly nods.

"I-I really had NO idea when I talked to you that you were one of them! I swear! But…" He says giving him a weak smile. "I'd still like to thank you… for getting me back on track…" He says and Ywan starts laughing.

"Indeed. You are most welcome Kotsukiba! However…" His tone gets much more dark. "You will never be able to defeat neither me nor Zaccaria…" He says and Zaccaria nods on the other side of the arena.

"Gotta agree there. I'll beat you both down and claim the spot as boss!" He yells showing his sadistic smile. With that he spins on his heel and Ywan does the same. Just when they're about to leave Kotsu takes a deep breath, as Reborn and everyone else also turns to leave. All but Ren who stands behind Kotsu.

"Lil' bro…?"

"I WILL WIN! I want to win! Not for me! Not for reborn! Or primo! But for my friends! I'll answer ALL their feelings and beat you both!" Kotsu yells having gathered all his courage. Ywan finds his attempt at being intimidating quite laughable, however Zaccaria smiles looking oddly happy at that statement, making sure Kotsu doesn't see it as he leaves.

Geraldino who'd sat back for the entirety of the event finally decides to speak as he looks after Zaccaria. "I'll be right back…" He says heading towards Zaccaria's location. The Cervello is about to ask him not to as it might start conflict. "Don't worry. I don't have a sword or a ring. I'm not dumb enough to start a fight like this," he says heading out.

Kotsu and the others go home with Ren being very quiet and he looks a little down. "R-Ren… are you alright?"

"Yeah… just… still pretty angry with myself… that I've been such a horrible source of advice and support… I only made things worse for you at every step…" He says and Kotsu is about to assure him of the opposite however Ren feels probably the most comforting hand on his shoulder he's ever felt, from Primo.

"You've nothing to be ashamed for. You did what you thought was right with the situation you saw. You only had your little brother's safety in mind and that accounts for something," He starts and looks down seeing him still with a frown on his face. "But what you do next is the most important part. It's what defines who we are. We're not the person we were yesterday. We've learned and improved and now we're an even better version of ourselves," He says and Ren looks up at him, seeing that he looks to be remembering events he himself have gone through. "Besides… When I chose you… I had about six other choices. Each physically stronger than you. Each wiser than you. Each with more experience in all fields than you… but they lacked things that you had, which is the reason I chose you,"

Ren looks absolutely confused. "W-what do I have that can possibly help me in a fight that all the others lack!? Isn't my position all about being strong!?"

"They lacked a smile. They lacked a passion. They lacked all the love and care you show everyone around you. It's what makes you more fit to hold this position than Boris on Zaccaria's team… and Riccardo on Ywan's team. You're so kind and gentle… I'm sorry for dragging your little brother into this… I know it's not the life you wished for him…" He adds in the end and Ren almost feels himself getting inspired and happy at the words. As long as he remains passionate… and with a happy outlook… everything will work out…

"It's alright Primo-san… To be… perfectly honest with you… I've been kinda worried…" he says looking back at Kotsu who's walking behind them to let them talk. "Before you chose him… he didn't have any plan at all… So I thought he might end up becoming a garbageman or janitor…" Kotsu almost falls as he learns of this.

"Wow… thanks Ren… nice to see you had faith in me…"

Ren chuckles looking at his little brother. "Well it WAS a real possibility. And I'd've done anything in my power to prevent it I can assure you!" He says pumping his fist being back to his old self.

"S-so… um… Primo… who're YOUR guardians… they gotta be really impressive people right…?" Kotsu decides to ask and Primo chuckles lightly.

"I can assure you they're all quite so. With that said I would like to introduce you to half of them at least," He says pointing to his two bodyguards. "This is my storm guardian. Gokudera-kun," He says and the gruff man with the grey hair nods approvingly with quite a cold demeanor. "And this is my rain guardian Yamamoto," He says and the black-haired man with the scar and sword gives a friendly wave and Kotsu is honestly stunned that the two of them have such different ways of just silently saying hello.

"But… don't you have six like me? This is just two of them…"

"The third you've already met," he says pointing to Hibari. "This is my cloud guardian. Hibari Kyoya… or as you know him… Kyoya-sensei," He says and Hibari grits his teeth at the title.

"Shut it herbivore,"

"Fair enough," Both Ren and Kotsu are quite shocked to learn that one of the people they've known for a few years was involved in this whole mafia thing since the beginning.

"B-but why's he here then!? Isn't he supposed to be in Italy… with you?" Kotsu asks and Hibari grits his teeth.

"I refuse to leave Namimori middle school unprotected," He says exiting the conversation to deal with Gokudera who seems to be quite displeased with how he spoke to Primo.

Primo leans closer to the two boys. "He's been like that since we were still in middle school. Back then he was in the disciplinary committee,"

"so… you met all your guardians at school too…?"

"Well I met one of them at home when he wanted to kill me. Another I first met in MY ring conflict…" he explains and Kotsu can't help but see the similarities between the both of them. He met Cotton at home when she tried killing him and NOW he met Marco at the ring conflict.

They all step onto the subway to go back to the resort, however right before the Cervello who escorted them holds out the box and tray. "If you would be so kind as to choose your guardians for tomorrow…"

Kotsu reaches for two boxes without much hesitation and put them on the tray and they both open with the one for Zaccaria being a cloud flame and the one for Ywan being a mist flame. This naturally leads him to wonder who these two guardians are as he doesn't yet know Rinoka is one of them. The Cervello bow and disappears. "Um… Primo… who're my cloud and mist guardians?" He asks and Primo just smiles.

"Do not worry there will be no more people you don't already know," He simply says which makes Kotsu both scared and happy. Happy because he knows there won't be any new scary people arriving but also that it means they might not be as strong as he had hoped for.

 **-NII-**

Zaccaria and his team exit the mall from the east exit while Ywan's team use the other exit. As soon as they exit Zaccaria stops and looks to the side seeing Geraldino leaning against the wall. "Looking for a fight?" he says smirking and Geraldino pushes off the wall.

"I don't have my weapons or ring like you do… you DO carry it with you right? I ain't buying that you use THAT ring to fight with," he says gesturing to Zaccaria's vongola sky ring.

"You'd be right. I do have my cosmic ring… but from what I heard… yours is kept safely tucked away in the Vongola vault."

"It is… but I just hope you realize… you're not fooling me with that appearance… nor that attitude,"

Zaccaria chuckles a little. "Well I'm not TRYING to fool YOU… I'm just doing what I'm told… for the greater good,"

"And you know that if the Cervello find out that you're using the ring conflict for your own goals… they'll be quite mad," he says and all Zaccaria's guardians note that their eyes are an eerily smiliar light piercing color, only that Zaccaria's are orange while Geraldino's are blue.

"I'm a cosmic flame Geraldino. Just like you… if they find out… what're they REALLY going to do? Locking me up is a waste… but I'll have you know… they will NOT find out…" He says as they walk off. He gives a quick little wave to Geraldino behind him. "I'm doing my part Geraldino! You'll do yours as well!" He yells and Geraldino laughs.

"I HAVE no role Zaccaria!"

"We'll see soon enough…" Zaccaria says under his breath leading his guardians to wonder exactly he means by that.


	39. Kotsu and Primo

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 39: Kotsu and Primo**

Kotsu wakes up the next day as there's some kind of commotion outside his room and someone yelling angrily which he assumes to be Tsugemora. He slowly sits up. "Tsugemora/Gokudera… stop yelling…" he says in unison with someone woke up on the floor next to him. They both look at each other and Kotsu almost jumps back as he sees Primo. "PRIMO!" He yells and Primo just smiles as he stretches.

"Good morning Kotsu. I see the commotion woke you up as well…" He says getting up. It's almost strange seeing the man who previously was in such formal dress be in nothing but his boxer shorts and a white tank-top… Kotsu slowly gets out of his bed as well quite confused and almost scared of doing something to displease the boss of the most powerful family in the world. They both get dressed in the exact same pattern. First switching boxers, then putting on a shirt, head first, then right arm in sleeve then left arm in sleeve and a few pats on it to make sure it fits well. Then pants, right leg first and pull the shirt out of the folds. Then socks in the same order. Then they go brush their teeth once more doing it in the exact same way, neither of them noticing that they're doing it. They both clean up and look themselves in the mirror as their hair has naturally set itself in the way it was the day before, oddly enough… they exit the room their stride also very much alike.

Outside Tsugemora is standing in front of Gokudera both glaring at each other. "Leave this to me kid, I'm Neo Primo-san's bodyguard!"

"And I'M Nii-san's bodyguard! I can protect Primo-san too if I have to!" They butt heads with Ren and Yamamoto standing to the side laughing nervously, as they look at the grown man fighting with the 30 year younger boy.

"Gokudera/Tsugemora… could you not do this so early…?" Both Kotsu and Primo say rubbing their eyes and both of the guardians stop fighting to smile warmly at the two of them.

"YESSIR!" They both say together then quickly give each other a glare, and both Kotsu and Primo find it a little funny seeing how much Tsugemora has to look up and Gokudera down in order to look into each other's eyes. The two leaders snicker a little. Primo has chosen a much more casual approach to dressing as he doesn't want to attract too much attention among the students. He's simply dressing in a white t-shirt with red short sleeves and ordinary blue jeans. However one thing that remains to make him stand out is the most insane ring Kotsu has ever seen. It has a big blue gem with an X over it saying vongola across it and two long flame-designs sticking out at both the top and bottom and it even has a little chain that is attached to a smaller more ordinary ring on his pinky.

They then note that there're a lot of people looking at them to see all the commotion. Primo casually waves at them. "I apologize for waking you all up…" He says before Gokudera leans close him.

"Actually you two overslept Primo-san," He says and Primo laughs a little before relaying the information to Kotsu.

"Seems we overslept Kotsu…" he says scratching the back of his neck and Kotsu falls back in disbelief. The, as far as he knows, most powerful man in the world and he oversleeps!? What kind of boss DOES that!?

"That's ridiculous!" Kotsu yells out of context.

Both Yamamoto and Ren shake their head. "Some things never change it seems…" they say in unison also before looking at each other laughing. "it's nice to see that Tsuna has not lost what's important for a boss to be successful…" the older of the two says.

Ren chuckles. "It seems whoever chose your generation ALSO had a good idea about that…"

As the girls in the crowd get a good look at Primo they all gush a little as his almost childish smile is quite handsome. "W-who IS that?!" One decides to ask and Gokudera is about get mad at them for not knowing of 'Neo Vongola Primo' When Primo just casually gives them a toothy grin taking quite a casual stance.

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. I used to go to your school about 30 years ago… Thought I'd come back to check if it was still the same old school… these years WERE some of my most eventful after all," He says and Kotsu smiles a little. "Besides… I'm a distant relative of your friend here," He says gesturing to Kotsu. "So it was a perfect opportunity to come back when I heard about this field trip," He says patting Kotsu on the head and everyone looks stunned at Kotsu. Who knew he had such a cool-looking relative.

Primo talks to the students for a while answering all their questions and such, skillfully avoiding anything to do with his actual occupation. What's his job? Leader of a company. What does it produce? They're a company whose goal is to create peace in the world. So on and so forth. Kotsu gets a light punch in the shoulder from Fumie who smirks.

"I didn't know you had such an awesome uncle Kotsu-kun!" She says laughing happily.

Kotsu sighs slightly. Well neither did he… "Yeah… he's pretty cool. But… we've sadly got nothing in common…"

Fumie looks at him almost TOO seriously. "That's not true. You have the same eyes as him… kind eyes…" She says causing the young boy to blush faintly before looking away.

"T-thanks I guess…" He says gulping slightly as Primo just laughs apologetically pushing himself back a little.

"Alright alright. Please… no more questions. You're embarrassing me. I'm not used to getting much attention…" He says backing away and Reborn steps in front glaring at them.

"Get out into your groups. All of you," In an instant everyone is doing just that.

"Reborn-san… I think I want to spend a day with Kotsu is that's alright with you…" Primo says and Reborn just tsks as he leaves with Ren, Fumie and the others.

"Suit yourself No-good-Tsuna…" He says and Kotsu is quite curious as to what he might experience being alone with Primo for an extended period of time.

The two lock gazes for a second. "It's nice to finally meet you properly Kotsu…" He says smiling a very kind smile.

"Yeah… s-same to you… Primo-san…"

 **-NII-**

The two take the subway to the place where Kotsu first met NM-5 and Zaccaria. Repairs are still being made there where Kotsu was bashed into the ground and where NM-5 hit things with his lasers. "From what I heard… this is where you first encountered your adversary Zaccaria correct?" Primo asks stepping out of the train and looking around at the damage. He has a sports-bag hanging off his shoulder.

"Y-yeah… I got quite easily beaten up by NM-5…" He says and Primo chuckles. "W-what's so funny!? I nearly gave up on winning after that!"

Primo looks at one of the holes which is blocked off with a 'do not cross' tape. "However it makes me happy that you took on the fight because it endangered your friends… if you must fight and lose, it's not a sign that you're weak. Or a sign that you should give up. It's a sign that you're human. We win and we lose and that's just something we need to live with. I can already tell you Kotsu… this will not be the only time you lose." He says chuckling a little as they exit the station. "I remember being defeated many times in fact. Even still there're people I cannot best in combat. Such as your older brother's teacher Hibari. Or Reborn…" He says getting the same face that Kotsu gets when he's annoyed thinking back to his losses.

"Wait… wasn't Hibari YOUR guardian!?"

"That's right… just because he's my guardian he can still be stronger than me… he still calls me herbivore too. But what about you Kotsu…? How are you holding up?"

Kotsu is a bit taken aback. He's not used to being asked how he feels since Reborn is pretty apathetic in that aspect. "I uhh… I'm doing better… I… don't know if I can win the ring conflict… but… I want to know something Primo… why do 'I' need to train when it's only my guardians that fight? That makes no sense,"

"That's pretty simple… each of you have six fights in total. Three against one of your opponents and three against the other. That makes nine fights total… which means you can end in a tie in multiple ways. But two of those will leave two or more winners. 4-4-1. And 3-3-3. Which means…?"

Kotsu catches on and gulps a little. "Which means that there will be a final match…"

"Exactly. And if I know anything about how this works out… you'll probably be one of the two winners,"

"W-why is that!?"

Primo winks at him as they enter the park where Kotsu unknowingly met Ywan. "That's classified until AFTER the ring conflict. Now… shall we?" He says taking out a baseball and two gloves. Kotsu is quite confused. He's never really done this before since his father left them.

"Um… sure…" He says catching a glove and Primo tosses the ball gently at him. "So um… why're we doing this?" he asks throwing it back.

"Well it's to my understanding that you've never really done this with your father as he left your mother while you where young… I've also never done this… so I thought I'd at least not let you be without a memory like this," He says tossing it back.

"I guess that's true…" He catches the ball and Primo smirks.

"Alright! Give me a hard one!" He says and Kotsu gulps a little as he's never really been a good thrower but he still needs to give it a shot since this is Primo asking for it. He winds up as best he knows and tosses it WAY over Primo's head. However it seems Primo hasn't really given up on catching it as he runs backwards to get it. "I got it! I got it!" He says before tripping over a bench he didn't notice running backwards making Kotsu pull a pained face as he watches the poor boss tumble back hurting himself like a klutz. However he sits up laughing his ass off having gotten some branches and leaves in his hair. A little boy's picked up their ball and he sees Primo get up and gesture for him to throw which he does.

"So um… I still don't get why you chose me…" Kotsu says slowly and Primo turns around catching the ball without looking.

"Why I chose you? You're still confused about that?" He says throwing the ball back. "Well that's simple… You're a lot like me…"

Kotsu blinks a little losing focus and doesn't quite catch the ball. "I'm… like you?" he asks picking the ball back up throwing it back.

"That's right. Is it really so hard to believe? Back when I was your age I was chosen by the external advisor, my father, to be the boss… but to become boss I had to defeat someone quite powerful. And now I have chosen you to do the same…" Primo says smiling happily almost.

Kotsu smiles a bit weakly. "Yeah… I don't know if I should be angry with you or thank you… you've put not just my life… but the life of my friends and brother in danger… but… you've given me an unbelievable opportunity in return… I guess when I put it like that it's unforgiveable…" He says tossing it back once more.

Primo can definitely see his point of view. Thanks to him all his guardians, most of which are ordinary civilians, are in danger but he simply smirks. "Believe it or not Kotsu… but my guardians were also civilians. But we made it through for one simple reason… we had some amazing people to train us. So you really shouldn't worry at all… as I said… you're like me. And I'm sure your guardians will risk everything to protect you… this isn't just an opportunity for you. It's a chance for you to make bonds no enemy can break, no matter how strong they may be…"

The two throw a little in silence getting a bit fancy with their throws here and there. Mostly ending in hilarious failure. In the end they both pack up and head down the street. "So from what I hear you have no hobbies to speak of…" Primo says and Kotsu finds himself laughing a little.

"Yeah… I guess I have hobbies now. Survive Cotton living with me. Try not to die when Tsugemora crashes into me. Live through Reborn's training… man… a lot of my hobbies are just surviving…" He says and Primo laughs lightly.

"Believe me I know the feeling Kotsu. I was in a similar situation when I was a candidate…" The two walk in silence for a little both wondering what on earth they both did to deserve such cruel treatment arriving at no real answers in the slightest. "You know… I'm curious Kotsu… when I was your age… that was when I started really paying attention to the girls in my school…"

Kotsu instantly catches on to what he's going to ask. "Oh… NONONO! Y-you know I'm um… I'm too indecisive… It's pretty embarrassing but… I could never make up my mind as to who I should have a crush on… so I decided not to bother…" He says rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? What an odd thing to decide… it's not like one can control such emotions…" he says before letting on a slight smirk deciding to tease his protégé a little. "But you know…? The Vongola family needs a Miss Vongola! So you'd better make up your mind… from the looks of your circle of friends you have a few good options…!" he says smirking and Kotsu's face is flushed with a red tint.

"H-hey! T-that's none of your business!" He says but Primo just takes a very parental tone.

"Oh but it is! I'm retiring, but I STILL want the family I leave behind to be stable. So it's important to me indeed!" He says and Kotsu looks forward really annoyed.

"Yeah yeah… excuses excuses… but even then… I suck at talking to girls in that way… that's much more Ren's cup of tea… they just fall for him like dominos… because he's so handsome. And then there's 'Average at best' Kotsu…" He says in a hopeless tone and Primo just laughs.

"But you see Kotsu! That was my problem as well… but look…" He says pulling out a picture of his wife who's what one can only describe as incredibly beautiful. Long orange hair and pretty yellow eyes both on a gorgeous face and Kotsu blushes. "Yes… I DID meet her in middle school,"

"S-she's really pretty Primo… I hope a miracle happens and I find someone like that…" He says blushing as it seems a little improper to talk like that about someone's wife.

But Primo doesn't really mind. "Well you know… you DO have two girls whom you're on talking basis with isn't there?"

"Y-yeah? B-but that…"

"Fumie," Primo starts holding out his hand to count her pros. "She's outgoing. Kind. Very pretty. Sporty to keep you in shape. Strict to hold you in check if you start getting a little crazy. AND you've known her for a long time!" He says and Kotsu just crosses his arms annoyed.

"Yeah… but she likes Ren! No way I got a chance with her!" He starts and Primo just raises his eyebrow.

"Well then… that leaves Rinoka doesn't it? She's shy and cute. Inward. She has incredible manners. She's a careful girl who needs protection. It'll be a good motivation for you that she needs you to make her feel safe," He says smiling. Reborn DID tell him about the letter she wrote on Valentine that Kotsu never got to read, but it's best to keep that a secret for now…

"I… I guess… h-hey! Can we STOP talking about my non-existent love life!?" He says annoyed with the man.

Primo chuckles happily as they enter a shop to go and get something to eat. "my… what a casual tone you're taking with a person you regard as one of the strongest eh?" He says leading Kotsu to realize he almost forgot that Primo was… well… PRIMO! He was just so friendly and… kind of goofy that he forgot he's actually probably one of the top ten STRONGEST people in the world. After getting a little drink each, Kotsu a cola and Primo a… also a cola…?

"Shouldn't you drink like… coffee or something?" Kotsu asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I like cola. Nothing wrong with that Kotsu… now… I want to talk to you about something serious…" He says as they once more enter the park. Kotsu gets a little uneasy as Primo's face is a lot more serious now. "You think you can win the ring conflict if it comes to a one-on-one-on-one with Ywan and Zaccaria?" He says looking down at Kotsu with almost scarily serious eyes.

After gulping Kotsu takes a deep breath. "I… I'm not sure… I've… never seen Ywan fight… but… after seeing him attack Jute yesterday… I think I can beat him…" He says which honestly takes Primo by surprise. If that had been him at that age he'd have definitely thought it impossible to defeat. "As for Zaccaria… I think he's the stronger of the two… he talks so… seriously and he's pretty scary…"

Primo nods a little as they sit down on a bench. "I see… let me tell you a few tales Kotsu… about Ywan and Zaccaria…" He says and Kotsu tenses up a little.


	40. A legend reborn and the cosmic sky

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 40: A legend reborn and the cosmic sky**

"Let me tell you a few tales Kotsu… about Ywan and Zaccaria…" Primo says sitting on the bench in the park with Kotsu getting rather tense as he feels he's about to be told two VERY legendary stories.

"T-they already have legends?"

"That's right…"

 **-NII-**

Ywan… a name that by this time strikes fear into many men… For many reasons. His strength. His wisdom. His tenacious will to win and be in the right. But there's another reason people fear him… his lineage.

From the moment he was born Ywan has been raised among three brothers in a Russian family from Moscow. Not a wealthy family in the slightest. He was born in Italy where the family had ended up fleeing over the years. He never knew his father as his mother was a simple prostitute, so his father was likely one of her clients. From the moment he was born the odds were stacked against Ywan… he was the target for so much of his siblings' anger and frustration as his mother could not work for nine months thanks to him. Even his own mother despised him. They almost all starved because of him. When he learned to speak and walk his siblings did not take kindly to him. Beating him up at every occasion. He was bullied in school as well for his mother's line of work. After much time of living as a human punching bag Ywan finally snapped. He ran away from home and lived on the street for many years. He taught himself how to fight both barehanded and with a knife he found.

The young Ywan is walking back into an alley where he's 'set up camp' for the day seeing that a few thugs looking at him. "Hey kid… where's you momma?" One asks and the young Ywan pulls out his knife trying to be threatening much to the thugs' amusement. "Oh what're you going to do stab me?"

"Yeah! I-if you don't leave right now!" He yells right back and the thugs laugh at his clearly fearful expression. "I… I mean it!"

"Alright alright kid…" the main thug says before they all begin to walk away. However as they walk past him one of them kicks the knife out of his hand suddenly. Ywan's eyes go wide before he's picked up and thrown against the wall with the thugs beginning to beat him up. "Who the hell do you think you are?! Threatening grown men like that?!" Ywan cries as he's ruthlessly beaten on. The world had always been cruel to him… why? What had he done to deserve this? Be born? That's hardly a good reason… he wouldn't accept such a thing! NO WAY! No one looks down on him! NO ONE! He starts crawling a bit to get to his knife enduring the pain as the thugs have a little laugh. "Yeah right! Like that'll help you!" He yells as Ywan grabs the knife clutching it hard. It suddenly bursts with sky flames and it's as if his pain disappears. The thugs take a few steps back.

Ywan slowly stands up. "Who do YOU think YOU are? Beating on a helpless kid like me… I'm tired of it… tired of being punished for existing… so I think I'll start getting the world back for it…" He says raising his knife as the flames boom up even more and he swings it at the air as all three thugs are enveloped in flames.

For almost a year Ywan lived on his own on the street. He was now six years old and had already killed… However that was when he met him… a kind old man. Timoteo. Or as others know him the ninth boss of the Vongola family. "You look frightened young man… where is your mother?" He asks looking at Ywan sitting on a streetcorner with his knife.

"What do you care old man…?"

Timoteo gives a typical old man's laugh. "The streets is no place for a child like you…" He says kindly and Ywan looks up at him with almost angry eyes.

"Get lost old man… or I'll kill you," He says holding up his knife as it bursts into flames. The appearance of the flames is darker than normal sky flames and appear to be forming a longer blade around his knife. This causes Timoteo's eyes to widen.

"A knife? Those flames… hmm… you're just like 'him'…" He says only annoying Ywan further.

"I SAID… get lost!"

Timoteo holds out his walking cane and it also lights up with sky flames. "Do not get high and mighty child… your ability is simple and unrefined. While I have mastered mine… you would lose a battle with me… however I can teach you… in fact I MUST teach you if you truly are what I believe you are…"

Ywan seems quite intrigued and stands. "Fine… but if you try anything funny I'll kill you old man!"

"Sure child what is your name. I am Timoteo,"

"Ywan…"

Timoteo took in Ywan and allowed his guardians as well as other people within the mafia to let him live the life he wanted. However on his tenth birthday Ywan decided to revisit his old home. He wanted to tell them and show them how strong he'd gotten thanks to them. He was a natural talent at fighting and leading. He stops in front of the door hesitating a little. But gathering his courage he happily swings the door open horror striking his eyes. His mother laid dead on the bed. He runs in to see if his mother was alive. However he quickly finds that she isn't. And his brothers were nowhere to be seen. Did THEY do this? Once more the world had tossed another tragedy his way as if to tell him to stop trying. However this drove Ywan to become better, so that he might one day track down his brothers and ask them what happened… and if it came down to it… kill them.

When Ywan turned fifteen Timoteo called for him. "I wish to show you something Ywan…" He takes Ywan to a large room at the back of the manor they live in. Here he showed Ywan a great hall to honor the previous bosses of the vongola family. The largest painting in the back is of the original Primo with a pair of flaming gloves. "This… is the hall of bosses. Soon I will be joining in this hall myself in fact! Hohoho… But what I wish to show you is this…" He says going to one of the many paintings on the wall. The one of Vongola Terzo, the third vongola boss, a man with quite a similar face to Ywan. In front of the pedestal is a knife which seems to resemble the one the man has in the picture.

"W-what's the meaning of this!? Is this me from the future!? What's going on!?"

"Not quite Ywan… it seems you may be a sort of… reincarnation of Vongola Terzo… It is unheard of… but it seems that it may be the case," Ywan touches the painting.

"So…? What about it? What do I care I'm the reincarnation of some old guy!?"

"Do you not realize what this means? It means you're a rightful leader. A man meant to rule. You are among the second generation of the will of the very family you are in!" He says and Ywan can't help but smirk slightly.

"A man meant to rule huh? Sounds like something I might like…" He looks to vongola Terzo's knife. "Mind if I take that then…? Since I'm actually the guy in the picture?" He says and Timoteo just taps his cane.

"Absolutely not… Vongola Terzo's dagger is among the strongest weapons ever conceived. It must never leave this hall… just as the other vongola bosses weapons we keep here," He says and Ywan looks around seeing that on all the other pedestals there're weapons as well.

From then on Ywan was never the same. He became quite obsessed with earning power and respect like his predecessor. Wishing to be in the right at all times. And not only did he want to… he successed completely and by age 20 he was among the highest ranking members of the Vongola council as well as a strong battler. He truly was… a legend reborn…

 **-NII-**

Primo leans his head back after telling Kotsu Ywan's story. The younger boy looks almost terrified. "B-but I thought all the vongola bosses were… you know… nice people…?"

"After the previous Vongola Primo, Giotto… the vongola started going down a much more violent path under Vongola second… and one would think things could only get better with Vongola Terzo… but of course the second wouldn't choose a man who wasn't in tune with his ideals… so Vongola Terzo was just as powerhungry and violent as his predecessor. And Ywan is quite well-encapsulated in that. However he truly cares for the Vongola's survival and honor. That much I know…"

Kotsu gulps again upon hearing the story and looks at the ground. "T-that's terrifying… a guy who thinks the Vongola needs to be restored is up against me… who wants it to stay as kind as you do…"

"Yes indeed… but while Ywan is strong and scary from a rough childhood and life… the same cannot be said for your other opponent I'm afraid…" He says referring to Zaccaria and Kotsu is unsure whether he should be relieved to hear this or afraid that it means something more ominous.

 **-NII-**

Zaccaria. Born to two members of the Vongola family. He has cast aside his last name… to strike fear into anyone who meets him. Because he does not want to be seen as a person but as a threat. He is incredibly powerful. Born to lead just like Ywan but for another reason… he was chosen from birth.

When he was born the Vongola doctors were taken aback as he was glowing a bright orange and his eyes were the purest orange one can imagine. Why was this? We wouldn't find out until many years later…

His mother's name is Angelina, truly a fitting name… god's messenger… His father was one of the strongest fighters of the vongola family… Valerio… a name that simply means powerful and strong… which he certainly was… he held one of the strongest weapons in existence. Most people could not understand how he battled with such a large weapon, but he did. He was regarded as a hero among the Vongola family…

The young Zaccaria who, in spite of the strange abilities he showed at his birth, had shown no special abilities highly regarded his father. He wanted to become kind and strong like him when he became older. They were all a loving family. Worried when Valeria was out fighting and happy when he came home. Zaccaria did well in school and was quite popular among fellow students. However one day he was targeted by assassins as they wanted leverage on Valerio.

Zaccaria's father stands in front of Zaccaria and his mother. "Stay back you two… papa will handle this…" He says taking out a katar which is the same one Zaccaria walks around with in present day.

The assassin laughs seeing the weapon. "Is THAT the legendary weapon known as 'Valkyrie'!? I HAD heard it got worn down through repeated use in spite of it being 'invincible'! But that's pathetic!" He yells and Valerio grits his teeth holding the katar up preparing to fight.

"It may be worn down… but I have still won many battles with this weapon!" He proudly declares. Zaccaria looks terrified hugging close to his mother. Valerio looks back at him and smiles in a gentle manner in spite of the situation. "Don't worry lil' buddy… lets go get icecream after this alright…?" He says before turning back to the assassin to find him charging at him.

"Don't turn your back to an enemy!" He yells striking at Valerio with his spear who blocks with his katar surprisingly well.

"Just because my back was turned doesn't mean I stop paying attention!"

The two fought a long hard battle but in the midst of the battle when it seemed Valerio was winning… The assassin turned the tides with a simple trick. He went after Zaccaria who was frozen in terror. He tried stabbing the young boy with his spear and in spite of him having trained to become strong like his father he couldn't get himself to move, which lead to the result one could predict. Valerio got in front of the attack getting impaled in the back to protect his child.

He coughs up a bit of blood. "That's… a really dirty trick…" He says looking over his shoulder at the assassin.

"P-papa…? PAPA!" Zaccaria yells tears filling his eyes seeing his father like this and Valerio smiles at him.

"Yeah Zaccaria…? What is it? You alright?" He asks and Zaccaria tries pulling the spear out of him.

"I-it doesn't matter! I-I don't want papa to die because of me!"

Valerio chuckles coughing a bit more. "It's alright son… pulling the spear out will just get messy and kill me even faster… and if I die from this… it definitely wasn't because of you… I chose it myself…"

Angelina pulls Zaccaria back. "Sweetie don't… don't watch…" She says and Valerio smiles at her.

"Well honey… I think this is the end for me to be honest… I kind of expected it to end sooner rather than later… nothing THIS good lasts for long after all… take good care of Zaccaria… he's kind and smart… he deserves a good life…" He says as the assassin pulls the spear out of him and he falls forward.

"Aww… ain't that sweet? How about I make your family join you in death? Besides… I don't like leaving witnesses…" He says glaring at Zaccaria and Angelina.

Valerio grits his teeth trying to get up to protect them. But he's too close to death. He closes his eyes not wanting to watch when suddenly the spear is stopped by a single hand grabbing it and melting the thing inbetween the fingers. It's Primo who's in hyper dying will mode. He's with Yamamoto. "Valerio! They're safe!" He says glaring the assassin down intensely. "Find your peace… you will be remembered…" He says and Valerio smirks.

"Just in the nick of time as always huh Primo…? Thank you…" He says as he finally bleeds out in peace knowing his family is safe. Zaccaria gets out of his mother's grasp and runs to his father.

"PAPA! PAPA! NO! T-this isn't how it goes! Y-you're a hero! You're supposed to win! Every time!" He yells and Yamamoto pulls him away again.

"It's alright Zaccaria… everything will be alright…" He assures but Zaccaria just kicks and screams in grief as his mother is also sitting and crying.

 **-NII-**

"Zaccaria wasn't the same after that. We never recovered Valkyrie. It simply wasn't there. Turns out Zaccaria had stolen it off his father when he shook him…" Primo finishes and Kotsu once more looks at the ground.

"Both of those guys… they seem so… so much more worthy to be boss than I do… I just… I just want to be boss because I've got nothing better to do with my life…" He says sadly thinking it must be hard to lose so much of what you love.

"It certainly is tragic. But don't allow that to discourage you. You've met them both… they're not fit to govern the Vongola family. They're both too violent… that is where you differ Kotsu… but there is another thing you should know about Zaccaria…" He adds and Kotsu wonders what ELSE that guy has hidden up his sleeve.

"Shortly after he watched his father get killed… he unlocked his flame through training with his father's weapon. The flame that has given him his name. 'Void-flame' Zaccaria. He holds a sky flame. But not just any sky flame. The highest quality sky flame in existence. It turns out there're others like him. People with flame quality far beyond what anyone has ever seen. All of them were born around the same time… around 20 years ago in fact. The seven warriors chosen by the flames themselves. They've been dubbed… the cosmic flames. Zaccaria is the cosmic sky flame… However we only know the identity and whereabouts of one other of these seven…" He explains and Kotsu gulps.

"B-but if these guys are really that powerful then how can I possible hope to stand up to Zaccaria!? Not only that but Ywan, who's a reincarnation of one of the strongest people to ever live!?"

Primo looks up gently hitting Kotsu in the chest. "With your heart Kotsu… and with the trust you put in your own strength and in your friends… I believe in you Kotsu… I really do…" He says and it's as if Primo's fist is transferring hope and power into Kotsu's little body. He also looks up at the sky. He will prevail… and he'll make sure to accept and carry around the tragic stories of both his opponents.


	41. I-I want to be useful!

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 41: "I-I want to be useful!"**

Primo and Kotsu end up spending the rest on the day just talking about various things they have in common… which it turns out if quite a few things. Playing some more catch. Going to eat at Primo's expense which Kotsu doesn't really like, but Primo assures him that the Vongola family has quite an extensive amount of money to spare. After curfew is out for everyone Primo heads into a clothing store changing to his professional clothes he had in his bag. Kotsu can't help but think that cape looks insanely cool on him…

They enter the mall once more. Ywan and Zaccaria are already there. Both seeming impatient. It seems Jute is also there along with Cotton and Marco who seem a lot better, but it doesn't really surprise Kotsu with the amount of things the mafia can do it isn't too farfetched to think they have some kind of super healing thing…

The Cervello hold out their hands. "Let us begin the second day of the ring conflict! May I remind everyone that the current score is 1-1-1. Today's matches will be as follows and in the following order! Kotsu's cloud guardian versus Zaccaria's storm guardian!" Ricci cracks his neck smirking.

"Finally getting some action. Staking out that place for a week was boring as hell!" He says smirking.

"Followed by Ywan's storm guardian against Kotsu's mist guardian!"

Antonio smirks looking at his box weapon. "After the modifications to this after Boris gave it a test run… I don't see myself losing…" He says laughing.

"Don't get cocky. Kotsukiba's sun guardian defeated Faust…" Ywan says clenching his fists as he stands all stoic with his arms crossed. "They may have more surprises up their sleeve…"

"And finally! Zaccaria's mist guardian against Ywan's cloud guardian!" The Cervello declare and everyone on Zaccaria's team except Zaccaria himself shiver a little.

"Really…? THAT guy? He's so… creepy and weird…" Boris says with an annoyed sigh.

 _"He is powerful. That is all that matters,"_ NM-5 states in his robotic voice.

"Now… will the first two combatants please step forward!" The Cervello declare and Ricci jumps forward with his impossible jumping power.

"Alright! Let's do this!" He says ready to fight and Kotsu looks around seeing that no one is there to step forward for him.

"Kotsukiba… where is your cloud guardian?" They ask and Kotsu gulps.

"I… don't know…"

"We will wait no more than ten minutes… after that Zaccaria's storm guardian will win by default…"

Ricci looks really disappointed hearing that he may win by default. "That's SO boring!" He says sitting down.

 **-NII-**

Back at the resort Rinoka is sitting in her room with the door locked. She knows today is the day she will need to fight. But she's scared… she's barricaded herself in her room. Sitting on the bed with her legs folded up against her chest. "R-Rinoka… please open up… you need to get going or you'll miss it…" Ren says as calmly as he can. However Tsugemora hammers on the door as hard as he can.

"Open up Rinoka-senpai! You gotta help out Nii-san! That's your JOB!"

"I-I can't do it… i-it's too scary… I-I-I'm too weak… I… I'll just be in the way…" She cries and Ren tries calming her down again gently pushing Tsugemora aside as the approach of being angry won't work with her.

"T-that's not true! I'm SURE you'll do great! You trained all week right! For Kotsu's sake!" He says and Rinoka cries even harder.

"I-I know… a-and I'm letting him down! I-I-I don't deserve to b-be his friend…! P-P-Please go away…" She pleads and Ren sees that there's no way to get her out. He takes Tsugemora with him as he'll just create more turmoil in the little girl's head.

The two walk away, Ren turning back one final time. The two spot Geraldino sitting and drawing out in the main hall. He looks stoic and cold as always but it's a little warmer than before. "I… thought you went with mister Reborn and the others to the mall to watch the fights…" Ren says and Geraldino ignores him suddenly stabbing his pencil directly into the table making a hole from the sheer force also causing Tsugemora to visibly jump. He pulls the paper from the table stomping to Rinoka's door.

"Master! I finished the drawing like you said!" He yells and hears Rinoka sob from inside.

"T-that's great G-Geraldino-san…" She says in between sobs.

"You know what this means!?" He yells sounding surprisingly angry. Rinoka gives a little noise to signal no. "It means I got a LOT better at drawing in a week even though I've never been good at drawing!" He yells before suddenly without warning kicks in the door breaking the lock with sheer force. Rinoka looks terrified as Geraldino stomps over with those glowing cyan eyes. He glares angrily at her holding out the drawing. "See?" In spite of him saying he's gotten a lot better there's barely a noticeable change in the crudeness of his drawing.

"I-I-I-I-I… I-I said... that's great… c-c-congratulations…" Rinoka says pulling her blanket in front of her like a protective shield.

"Now get up! You've been doing the EXACT same as me this week! Tried getting better at something you're terrible at! And I KNOW you've succeeded! I WATCHED you!" He yells and Rinoka seems to only get more scared and Geraldino grits his teeth turning his back. "Geez… I hate this kind of thing… but I hate watching my master be sad…" He says mostly to himself Ren pokes his head in the door seeing the brute of a man stand in front of the little scared girl wondering if he should do something. "He needs you… who cares if you lose…? Just stay near that blonde bastard for a while if you get hurt… that'll fix you right up…" He says and Ren laughs a little nervously at being called a blonde bastard. "And from how hard you trained and how determined you looked when practicing… I got a feeling you need him too…" He finishes blushing a bit as he says such annoyingly compassionate things.

Rinoka's tears stop as she realizes… this is her default reaction to everything. Recoiling to safety… never venturing outside her comfort zone. But not this time… when she was told Kotsu needed her she tried her hardest to train! And she succeeded in doing what she wanted! But when the pressure arrived then she once more got scared. She had to do this! "B-but it's too late… i-it should've already started…" Rinoka says causing Geraldino to smirk.

"Come on… I'll show ya something master," He says and Rinoka jumps out of bed shyly following the young man with Ren doing the same.

"Hey… you alright?" Ren says putting a comforting hand on her shoulder and while she recoils a tiny bit she finds it nice and warm. She slowly nods not comfortable enough to give a verbal answer.

Geraldino takes them out back of the resort where he has a motorcycle. He tosses Rinoka a helmet. "Get on. We'll be there in five," He says with a smirk and Rinoka slowly puts it on gulping.

"I-I've never ridden on a motorcycle before…" she says as she sits on the back as Geraldino starts the engine.

"First time for everything master," he says smirking as he revs up and takes off. Ren waves them off a little worried.

"I hope she'll be alright…" He says and Tsugemora grits his teeth.

"Of course she will! Primo-sama would NEVER pick a weakling on Nii-san's team! I'm sure of it! Even if he DID pick YOU!" Tsugemora says gently punching Ren's arm.

"I guess so… by the way… sorry about the time with Geraldino at the subway…" He says as the two begin their own journey to the subway to arrive on time for the second and third match.

 **-NII-**

Kotsu looks at the timer the Cervello have set up counting down. It's been nine minutes already and Reborn and the others have also arrived. "I guess he's not going to show…" He says hopelessly.

Primo chuckles a little bit. "Her. Your cloud guardian is a girl… And she'll be here… she cares about you a lot after all. She needs you," He says and Kotsu is utterly confused.

"T-then who is she!?"

"It's Rinoka. Your friend," He says and Kotsu's eyes widen.

"It's WHO!? N-No way! I won't let her! I-It's too dangerous and she's so frail! T-that guy could kill her BY ACCIDENT!" He yells and Ricci sits up straight after laying on the floor for nine minutes.

"Oi! I'm not that weak! I'll never kill someone 'by accident'. If I kill someone it's on purpose!"

"A-and if it's Rinoka… then I don't think she'll show… she's too shy for this too…" He says chuckling a little to himself looking up at the timer. 30 seconds. Primo suddenly looks back and pulls Kotsu aside almost casually as the doors or the mall burst open with Geraldino's bike comes flying in.

"GUESS WHO!?" He yells happily sliding to stop. Rinoka gets off the bike almost shy that they made such a spectacular entrance.

"H-hello Kotsu-san… S-sorry I'm late…" She says and Kotsu gulps. She looks scared… but she looks very determined.

"Y-yeah… it's alright… y-you made it in time after all…" He says and she heads in towards the arena in front of Ricci who springs up hitting his fists together all pumped and ready before seeing his opponent. All the excitement drains from his face.

"W-what…? This girl's my opponent? She doesn't even LOOK like she can fight in any way!"

Rinoka tries to hide her face a little twirling her hair. "S-sorry… f-f-for d-disappointing you…" She says with a sad pout and Ricci blinks a little.

"Um… I… sorry…? I-I didn't mean to make you feel bad…" He says unsure if he's even SUPPOSED to apologize but it just seems… natural.

The Cervello raise their hand and the bubble appears around them with Rinoka being quite confused as to what's going on, but she was told by Reborn that lots of weird things would happen. "Let the fourth match of the ring conflict… BEGIN!" Rinoka gulps as Ricci lets out a sigh casting aside any apologetic things as she's only his opponent now.

He leaps forward with a tremendous amount of force, more than he should be capable of, and winds his fist back. It's the short-sleeved arm he's punching with and the bracelet on it shoots storm flames backwards from all the little gems studded onto it. "Just because you're a cute girl doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"


	42. Tiny cloud in a hurricane

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 42: Tiny cloud in a hurricane**

Ricci jumps forward with tremendous force winding his short-sleeved arm back as the bracelet shoots storm-flames backwards. "Just because you're a cute girl doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!" He yells as he strikes. Rinoka jumps to the side as he comes near and he smashes a hole in the ground. He shakes his hand a bit and then looks to her.

"What the hell is going on with that guy's guardians? A pacifist, a kid and her butler and now a frail little girl…" He asks himself rubbing the back of his head with his long-sleeved arm. He winds back his other arm and tries punching her again and she starts running away from him. Kotsu grits his teeth thinking it's unbearable to watch and he looks away, but Reborn forces his head back.

"Just wait. She has something," He says and Ricci punches the air in front of him even if he can't reach her sending a pulse of storm flames towards her and she's thrown forward. She lets out a little gasp as it seems she frantically tried putting on her vongola ring, but fails and drops it as it rolls across the arena. Ricci jumps at her again with full intent of hitting her as she tries crawling to the ring, before she starts crying. She just wanted to be useful… But she failed. She couldn't even put up a fight… some guardian she was.

"I-I'm sorry I'm so useless!" She yells burrowing her face in her arm waiting for Ricci to finish her off. He stands over her raising his fist preparing to strike as the storm flames burst from his bracelet. He looks around a little seeing everyone waiting for him to do it but hearing her keep crying at her own uselessness he grits his teeth.

"What're you waiting for Ricci!?" Zaccaria yells and Ricci grits his teeth.

"What're you doing?!" He yells at the frail and scared girl and she looks back at him with teary eyes.

"I-I dropped my ring… I can't do anything without it…" She says sobbing and Ricci's bracelet stops shooting storm flames.

"You people are so freaking weird," He says and looks towards where the ring landed. He heads over picking it up for her and hands it right back, almost gently with how frail she looks much to everyone's surprise.

"W-w-w-why're… why're you helping… me?" Rinoka asks and Ricci looks to the side as Rinoka gently picks up the ring from his palm.

"You at least deserve a chance. And I ain't gonna fight someone who can't defend herself," He says and Zaccaria stomps his foot

"RICCI! STOP HELPING HER! If you help her and she wins then I WILL kill you," He says lighting up his katar angrily.

"I won't lose Zaccaria. I promise. But I'm BETTER than my old man! I ain't gonna hit an opponent while she's down!" he yells and glares at Albert who fought Cotton and Marco yesterday. "See that old man!? Unlike you I have confidence in my ability to win with my OWN power!" He yells and Albert chuckles.

"You say such things boy! But you're wearing MY invention!" He yells pointing to the bracelets.

Ricci is about to retort when Rinoka interrupts him. "T-tha-" She starts but Ricci holds up his long-sleeved hand silencing her.

"Don't thank me. I'm your enemy," He says and his bracelet lights up. He jumps back again as if to reset their positions, and Rinoka gets the ring on her finger. "Now that you have that ring… I'm not holding back!" He says bending down on his knees and shoots forward at inhuman speeds. Rinoka just manages to move aside, but Ricci's flames still burn her cheek and she gets a tiny cut. Before he even lands he does a half front flip and somehow jumps off the air going straight for her again. She takes out a little purple box she had in her pocket, but Ricci hits it dead on making it slide away a bit. She scrambles for it, but Ricci is too fast and ends up standing with one foot on top of it with Rinoka laying on her stomach looking up at him.

"A box weapon? That was why you needed that ring?" He asks and raises his hand his storm flame appears. Rinoka's flame gets a little purple flame on it. Ricci grits his teeth. "That's all the flame you can manage? Why the hell were you chosen to be a guardian…? You said you needed the ring to fight, but you can't even fight yourself…?" He says and she tries pushing her ring against the hole in the box, but Ricci switches his foot from being on the box to stepping on her hand. Not hard by any means since he's both barefoot and still kind of holding back since he doesn't want to hurt her too bad since she looks really weak.

Kotsu looks visibly upset seeing the sweet innocent girl forced to fight a fight she stands no chance of winning. "She can't win! He's too strong!"

Reborn smirks however only serving to make Kotsu more annoyed. "I wouldn't count her out just yet," He says and Rinoka pushes her hand as hard as she can, yet she still can't reach the box. She remembers talking to Reborn sometime during her week of training. He explained the cloud flame has the trait of propagation. To increase! She concentrates a little and suddenly her tiny flame shoots out a little bit and it goes into the box. Ricci's eyes widen. She used the cloud's propagation to increase the length of her flame!? The box shoots open and the animal inside hits Ricci's foot away making him fall backwards and Rinoka grabs the box quickly and runs to make some distance. Ricci recovers from the fall instantly.

"So you got that box open…" He says with gritted teeth and looks at his long-sleeved arm. 'Not yet. But I might…' He thinks and Rinoka stops running when there's a bit of distance. Ricci looks around with his bracelet shooting flames, ready to attack.

"So… where is your box weapon?" He asks and Rinoka looks at the little box in her hand.

"Chido!" She calls out and starts hearing a buzzing sound next to her ear. It's a tiny dim purple hummingbird with a cloud flame on its tail feathers.

"A… hummingbird?" Kotsu asks and Reborn nods.

"I gave it to her since she doesn't have what it takes to fight herself. It's a new one. Colibrì di nuvola!" (Italian: cloud hummingbird) He yells and the hummingbird zips around in front of Rinoka. Ricci prepares his bracelet again.


	43. Destructive storm

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 43: Destructive storm**

Rinoka has just revealed her box weapon to be Colibrì di nuvola. A cloud hummingbird. Ricci jumps forward towards Rinoka and Chido.

"You think I'm scared of a tiny bird like that!?" He yells and Chido zips forward and its sharp beak gets longer and sharper and it just manages to graze Ricci's cheek, but instantly changes direction to stab him again. Ricci is forced to keep dodging its attacks. He jumps into the air. "Damn... it's super fast!" he thinks aloud and his bracelet shoots flames again and he attempts to hit the little bird in the air, but it keeps zipping back and forth avoiding everything he throws at it. Rinoka is looking happily up at the bird.

"He's managing," She says happily and Ricci looks down towards her. He smirks slightly. That's right! This little thing isn't his opponent! He shoots down towards the ground going directly at Rinoka. She gasps at his sudden change and holds up her hands to protect herself despite knowing how useless it is in the end.

"RINOKA!" Kotsu yells, but Ricci spots the little hummingbird flying past him with its entire body changed to be incredibly aerodynamic. It stops in front of her and its tiny wings grow to bigger and bigger, yet still flap at the same speed creating a large gust of wind that shoots Ricci back.

"You're getting on my nerves now... i might just get serious," He says and takes off his bracelet putting it on backwards, causing Zaccaria to smirk.

"So he's gotten a bit serious has he?" He says to himself making Kotsu gulp.

'W-why'd turning his bracelet upside down mean he's serious?' Kotsu thinks and Ricci's bracelet's gems start glowing.

"TAKE THIS! URAGANO DISTRUZIONE!" (Italian: Destruction hurricane) The flames shoot out the other way in a much bigger amount and Rinoka's hummingbird tries its hardest to blow it away with its large wings. Rinoka folds her hands.

"You can do it Chido! I believe in you!" She says and the bird flaps even harder and manages to deflect the attack. Kotsu looks to Primo.

"Primo-san… is she really the best choice for my cloud guardian? I know you gave her that box weapon, a-and she learned how to light that flame with Geraldino's help… but still..." He says and Primo smirks a little.

"She doesn't fit within the classic role of a cloud guardian. The cloud guardian is aloof. Distant. It protects the family from an independent stance while being unable to be bound by anything. I chose her since she fits it in a more… social perspective… she wants to be included… but she's too shy…"

"B-but that doesn't make her a good fighter!" Kotsu argues and Geraldino grinds his teeth clenching his hand around his arm.

"Quiet down second. That's my master you're talkin' about," He says leading Kotsu to wonder what the HELL happened during the week to make Rinoka and Geraldino master in student!

"I picked her because she has vast potential that she'll never realize without help Kotsu… help from you and your friends…" Primo finishes with the kind smile he's known for.

Ywan briefly glances to the two talking. "Such foolishness. Thinking a young girl is capable of handling the burdens of the mafia-world…"

Ricci smirks after Chido finishes blocking his powered up attack and its wings shrink in size again. It zips forward and Ricci jump forward at the incredible speed and Chido tries stabbing at him again, but this time he just hits towards it with his short-sleeved hand. The storm flames shoot towards Chido this time and the bird is forced to dodge out of the way and Rinoka ducks under the attack holding her hair down in a panic. Ricci keeps going towards Rinoka and Chido tries stopping him. Ricci stops right in front of her and holds out his hand.

"This ends now," He says and his gems glow, but Chido stabs the side of his hand and pushes the blast of storm flames to the side. Rinoka starts running and Ricci tries running setting after her but finds that Chido's doing his very best to push him the opposite direction looking very determined. Ricci almost finds it cute how much this bird likes her. However he can't let such things hold him back in a fight. He shoots his storm flames behind himself in the direction Chido is trying to force him and he shoots the other way towards Rinoka closing the distance with ease. He grabs her throat with his longsleeved hand and lifts her up as she struggles to get free. "I win," He says as Chido comes to her aid he grabs the bird out of the air as well now with relative ease as it's destination is easy to predict. Ricci's hand that's holding Rinoka. His bracelet starts glowing as he prepares to finish the fight.

"This fight is over!" Primo suddenly yells causing everyone around to look at him.

The Cervello shake their heads. "The battle must continue until one participant is knocked out. Those are the rules. Even you cannot change them Primo-sama,"

However Primo doesn't listen. He holds out his hand which has a really cool metallic glove on it. "Do not make me go in there and stop this fight myself… I said it's over… Rinoka has clearly lost," He says and The Cervello simply don't budge.

"Ricci-san… please finish the fight…" Ricci is once more about to do it when suddenly someone blasts forward slicing the bubble right open with intense strength and Ricci feels certain death loom over him.

"Let my master go… or I will kill you where you stand…" Geraldino says holding up Yamamoto's sword, which he took without warning. Ricci does as he's told and Geraldino looks towards the Cervello. "Forcing master to get more hurt than necessary? How low can you possibly go…?" He says before pushing Ricci aside picking up Rinoka with Chido flying beside her.

"H-hey!" Ricci says gritting his teeth. "It's not like I WANTED to finish her! I was just following the rules!"

The Cervello remain passive simply raising their hands. "As Rinoka has been given assistance she is disqualified and Ricci is the winner," They simply say which no one has a problem with.

Geraldino looks back at Ricci as he walks out with Rinoka crying in his arms. "I know. I just don't care,"

Rinoka gently pets Chido on his tiny head with a cute smile. "You fought very bravely Chido. You're a true friend," She says and passes out. Chido flies into his box and it closes up. Kotsu runs in to see if she's alright. The same goes for the small and eager Cotton who jumps out of Marco's grasp to check up on her.

"Rinoka? Rinoka!?" they both try and Geraldino gently puts her down. Kotsu can't help but look worried at her knowing she's not used to fighting nor is she even meant to know how to!

Reborn puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about her Kotsu. She's fine. But something was definitely off with that fight..." He says and looks after Ricci going back to Zaccaria who seems to be annoyed that Ricci hesitated with finishing her off and that he helped her during the fight.

"Like... what?" Kotsu asks looking at the young man.

"He didn't use his right hand to punch with at all," Geraldino says crossing his arms again. Kotsu looks at Ricci's right arm which has the long sleeve. He gulps realizing he's right. Every punch Ricci threw was with his left hand…

Ywan tsks in annoyance. "What a pointless battle… Primo must have truly gone mad to appoint such a useless girl as a guardian…" He says and Kotsu looks at Rinoka who's winching a bit in pain. He knows she probably feels useless right about now. But he doesn't really care about that. He's just glad she's safe and survived with few and small injuries.

Just then Ren and Tsugemora finally arrive seeing Rinoka laying there and they runs over. "R-Rinoka!" Ren says kneeling beside her. "I-Is she alright?" He asks frantically and Kotsu smiles a bit.

"She had a tough fight… she'll manage. She did her best but it wasn't really enough…" He says and Ren looks a little sad at her.

"Well… as long as she's not hurt too much…"

However Tsugemora seems more annoyed with her. "Damn… I guess we've got to pick up her slack!" He says gritting his teeth slightly.

The Cervello seem to rush things along as they've already placed the green circle and red x on the board. "Now then! Shall we begin the next match? Will Kotsukiba's mist guardian and Ywan's storm guardian please step forward?" They say and Kotsu looks around for his mist guardian as Antonio steps forward. He already has the box he used against Boris out causing the brutish Russian to laugh.

"Are you SURE you want to use that thing?! It might accidentally break again with how weak it is!" He yells chuckling happily at his own little joke, and Antonio just looks annoyed in Zaccaria and the gang's direction.

"It is more than capable of handling whoever this child sends my way," He says looking to Kotsu. However no one seems to want to be his mist guardian.

However suddenly someone hits his fist against his palm and steps forward. "Ah! Sokaaa… that's me…" Reishiro says as he walks forward in his zombie-like state. Everyone present even Reborn get a little surprised seeing him there as he walks forward.

"R-REISHIRO!?" They all yell. "W-what're you doing here!? H-how long have you been here!?"

Reishiro points to Ren. "I went with Ren and the little guy… They went out late so I wanted to see what they were doing," He says and both the guardians look absolutely confused.

"I-I didn't see him at all…" Ren starts.

"I-I'm always on the lookout for enemies… I-I don't know how…" Tsugemora says simply stunned someone managed to sneak with them seemingly without even trying.

Kotsu runs out to pull the boy back. "E-either way Reishiro! T-this isn't something you should get involved with!" He says and Primo smirks a little.

"Actually…" He says and Kotsu looks at the arm he's pulling on seeing the ring on his finger. It's a the vongola mist ring! "Reishiro is your mist guardian," He finishes and once more shock hits the three younger boys all looking at the clueless third-year.

"He's WHAT!?" They all yell and Kotsu lets go of him leading him to blink wondering what just happened before walking in to meet Antonio.

He lazily raises his hand. "Yo," He simply says and Antonio seems almost offended that his opponent is yet another child.

Kotsu and Ren are both quite upset and are getting all up in Primo's face to get him to explain while Tsugemora just seems to accept it as Primo-sama's words are law to him. "Alright alright you two… calm down… I have a reason for choosing your friend there okay? Trust me,"

The Cervello raise their hand. "Let the fourth match of the ring conflict… BEGIN!"

Ywan smirks. "I believe you are outmatched once more Kotsukiba. Antonio is one of my most powerful guardian… he will make quick work of your friend," He says as Antonio punches his box weapon causing the phoenix to pop out. It screeches before charging at Reishiro who's still just lazily standing around. The boy picks his ear after hearing the screech.

"Hm… what was that…?" He says and the phoenix grows in size becoming a large flaming monster and it envelops Reishiro. As the smoke clears everyone looks shocked seeing that… Reishiro is no longer there… there's only a scorched circle where he once stood.

"REISHIRO!"


	44. It lies with the family

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 44: It lies with the family**

Everyone looks in horror as the phoenix returns to Antonio who looks quite surprised. "This upgrade truly makes him a fearsome foe, but I did not expect it to completely incinerate him…"

Ren is about to cry looking at the place once stood. "R-Reishiro…?" However before anyone can comfort him Reishiro is standing there again completely unscathed.

"Yeah? What's wrong Ren?" He asks casually and everyone on Kotsu's team almost falls seeing how casual he acts while Antonio and Ywan looks angrily at the young boy.

"T-that's IMPOSSIBLE! Even a mist user would be unable to do such a thing!" Ywan declares furiously and suddenly there's a light ominous chuckle coming from above.

"Kukukuku… well my son is anything but ordinary…" it says sliding down the bubble. It's Reishiro's father. "So Tsunayoshi… this is what you contacted me for… kukuku… you're devious aren't you… thinking I'll accept you getting my son involved in this mafia business…" He says and Primo takes a little step backwards.

"W-well your son fits the role quite well…" He says and Reishiro's father just chuckles.

"Kukuku… I can't argue with that… though I doubt Reishiro even understands the nature of his own powers… but let's see what happens when they activate…" He says holding out his trident and suddenly Reishiro gets a sharp pain in his right eye and falls to his knees grabbing around it.

"I-It hurts… it hurts…" He says gritting his teeth as dark mist starts emanating from him. Antonio and his phoenix seem vary of what's happening, remembering what happened to Faust due to underestimating these children. "R-Ren… m-make the pain stop…" Reishiro pleads as suddenly everyone on the opposing teams eyes go wide as his eye is penetrated from the inside making a little horn come out of it. Reishiro stops his pained expression. He slowly stands up again looking at his hands. Everyone looks afraid as his pupil is completely gone having been replaced by the curvy horn.

"What is this!? Explain yourself! That is no mere illusion!" Ywan yells stepping forward and Reishiro's father just chuckles.

"It is simple… inside his eye… Reishiro has one of the six cursed hell rings… Vendetta…" (Italian: revenge)

Antonio grits his teeth. "The cursed hell rings? Those mean nothing to my power! GO!" He yells and the phoenix launches another attack and Reishiro once more doesn't react still looking at his hands as the pain is gone. The attack hits as he looks up however the giant pillar of fire stops like it's being pushed elsewhere. "W-What is this?" Antonio tries with Ywan following when suddenly Reishiro falls to his knees again whimpering in pain holding over his eye afraid to touch the horn. The large amount of fire is getting sucked into the top of the horn flowing around his fingers like it's protecting him.

"N-no… make it stop… it's not good…" He says suddenly starting to flicker in and out of existence. Everyone is stunned at the strange power he's displaying and Kotsu looks frantically to Reishiro's father.

"What did you DO to him!? What's happening!?"

"Did you ever wonder how Reishiro can seemingly appear out of nowhere? I'm sure it's happened…" the tall man says and Kotsu and Ren look at each other. It's true… Ren fell over him when he was laying on the ground… Kotsu did the same… at the station… he appeared in front of Riccardo… and just now… he followed Ren all the way here without him noticing… "The ring… Vendetta has the ability to absorb non-physical things… such as Antonio's fire… or indeed… light," he says as Reishiro stands up panting.

"But… why's it called Vendetta then? Shouldn't it be called like… absorber…" Tsugemora suggests to which Kotsu can only agree. A strange ability for something named revenge.

"You'll see…" He simply says much like everyone else whenever Kotsu, Ren or Tsugemora wants something explained.

Antonio attacks again with another pillar of fire. Reishiro seems to be catching on to what's happening as his eye absorbs the giant attack again making it hurt. "S-stop… sir… it hurts… the bright light… hurts…" He says as he suddenly disappears absorbing light with his ring as his father explained.

"No matter how much you can absorb! There must be a limit! Once more! He's but a child! He cannot move so fast!" He yells and the phoenix flies into the air shooting feathers all around to locate Reishiro and when one of them stops and changes course a bit before disappearing it dive-bombs straight at where it now knows Reishiro is. Antonio points with two fingers leaning his head back. "It's over! FENICE RINASCITA!" (Italian: Phoenix rebirth) He yells and the phoenix looks to bloat up and even without the translation Kotsu knows that it'll blow itself up.

"REISHIRO!" He yells causing the frail young man to look back and reappear.

"Mini-Ren… what's the matter!?" He says before suddenly it detonates right behind Reishiro creating a bright light right before making Reishiro look at it right as his entire body is enveloped in the blast which vibrates through the bubble and everyone looks away with one exception. His father, who lets on a slight smirk.

"Indeed… it's over… Vendetta has another ability which isn't just absorbing things… the ability that gave it its name," He says as the entire fiery death seems to stop and reverse creating a small tornado of flames and smoke which all centers around Reishiro's eye as he stands, bruised and with a few burns, but relatively unharmed. After the entire blast has been fully absorbed Antonio looks on in horror as suddenly Reishiro's horned eye widens still with him having that nonchalant look making it quite a frightening sight. Suddenly Reishiro's father holds his hand out in front of the younger three of them. "Stand back… this could be dangerous…" He says before suddenly Reishiro's horn starts glowing, a small red ball of energy forming in front of it. The little ball pulses a few times before shooting a truly extravagant vibrant stream of fire and light directly at Antonio who can do nothing except put his guard up but it's no use… the larger than life explosive force launches him back destroying absolutely everything in front of Reishiro. As it hits the bubble it pops it as if it were a mere soap bubble ravaging the stage occupied by the Cervello. Luckily they leapt out of the way in time but after about the three seconds it lasted there's a gigantic crater in the wall taking up both the first, second and third floor. "That is the true power of Vendetta… VENDICARE!" (Italian: revenge (the verb not the noun)) He declares as Reishiro is standing on the other end still just with that look in his eyes and a rather large scorch mark going behind him from his massive the attack was, looking frighteningly calm.

The Cervello and pretty much everyone, even Reborn and Ywan, look shocked at Reishiro as the Cervello jump into the debris to locate and check on Antonio. They quickly find him since they're the Cervello and all and check for a pulse. He's naturally unconscious and his box weapon is completely gone in the rubble. "He lives! He requires immediate care, but he lives!" they declare and with that Reishiro is declared the winner. Ren sprints up as fast as he can to check up on his friend with Kotsu close behind.

"Reishiro! REISHIRO! Are you alright!?" He tries shaking him and Reishiro chuckles lightly.

"Hey Ren…? What happened?"

"Y-you won… but are you okay?" Kotsu answers and Reishiro starts slowly toppling around in place as if he's lost his balance.

"Ah! Sokaaa…" He says before collapsing with Ren catching him.

However as usual Ywan is furious! "What was the meaning of this!? No mist user ability can multiply an attack and send it right back like that!" He yells taking out his knife.

Reishiro's dad takes a step forward. "then allow me to explain… Reishiro's never used Vendicare before. He's had the ring since he was an infant, due to a sickness… the ring keeps it in check… so that single attack… was all of Antonio's attacks as well as 15 years worth of light compressed into a three second long attack… you figure the rest out…" He says smirking before having Reishiro handed over to him by Ren. Cotton has looks frightened at Reishiro.

"So strong Reishiro-kun…" She says puffing her cheeks. "Cotton-heika could use you for her plans!"

"Sorry but his ability will likely never be that strong again. He has no light left so to speak but he should start charging up right away," His father explains and Cotton thinks a little.

"But it's still so strong!" She argues and Marco holds her back a little.

"My lady… please remain calm… he is hurting…" He says and Cotton sits back.

The Cervello have regained composure after the intense attack, also having taken Antonio into their care. "Ahem… that final attack was quite impressive… we will now move to the final round of today… will Ywan's thunder guardian and Zaccaria's mist guardian please step forward?" They say and the entirety of Zaccaria's team seem to get shivers except the boss himself.

"Not… him…" Boris almost cries clearly being creeped out by whoever it is.

On Ywan's side there's a bit of snickering as the person steps forward and when Kotsu, Tsugemora and Geraldino specifically look over they're quite surprised at who they see… Gerald… Tsugemora's father. "F-FATHER!?" Tsugemora yells and Gerald looks at them.

"I told you Kotsukiba… you would not be able to become the boss… because Ywan is the man who'll rule the vongola family. Believe me I find you to be a kind whole-hearted boy but that is NOT what the family needs… And Tsugemora… I hope you won't think less of me for being on the enemies side for this conflict.

"I-I see…" Kotsu starts before puffing his chest out a little. "But I'll win! I'll beat Ywan! AND Zaccaria! And I won't back down! Even against you Gerald-san!" He yells making Primo and Reborn smirk a little seeing that he really is still confident in his ability to win.

However Ywan simply ignores him and gruffly clears his throat. "Don't go losing now Gerald… Finish it before they have any chance to do something!" he commands with the backing of the whole team.

The man nods smirking. "I certainly wasn't planning on losing. If nothing else then to make my son realize he stands no chance so he'll avoid getting hurt unnecessarily!" He says taking out his laser blade he used against Kotsu.

Suddenly on Kotsu's side Cotton gets a little frightened whimpering into Marco's chest. "N-noooo…" She cries everyone thinking it's about Gerald being scary however once everyone looks at Zaccaria's mist guardian stepping forward they see what she's really scared of. His hair is long and crimson combed in a pattern that makes the hair around his face look like spike tattoos going over his forehead and swirly patterns on his cheeks while the rest hangs down quite sharply as well. He smirks as the hair moves over his eyes making a lizard eye appear and Ywan recognizes the shape to be the man in the shadow from when he visited Zaccaria's apartment. Who's more a boy than a man.

"You…?" He says and the boy laughs.

"Who me!? Why of course it's me! And I have a few things to say to YOUR team Kotsukiba!" He yells pointing completely ignoring Ywan's comment. "First! How on earth did that idiotic boss conclude that COTTON was the best match for your storm guardian! AND adding Marco in! Jute would be much better! SECOND! How pathetic can your mist guardian be to knock himself out with a single attack! THIRD! Your cloud guardian is a complete joke! A little girl!? Giving her a box weapon doesn't make her a better guardian! Overall I'd say Faust and now Antonio should be pretty embarrassed to lose to such a pathetic group of kids!" He yells and Cotton hugs close to Marco clearly being a little scared of this person.

Kotsu gulps. "B-but… who are you…? You look like… one of Cotton's siblings…"

He tsks angrily. "Don't lump me in with that outcast! I'm her cousin at worst and her superior at best! Name's Barley! Better remember it. And there's no way ANYONE of those pieces of crap can beat me! Especially not this stain on the carpet! What was he? the father of YOUR thunder guardian? Guess flames stick with the family… unless you're us… but that might've something to do with pops' way of doing things." He yells and Kotsu gulps.

"This guy looks… really dangerous…"

Barley gives an evil grin. "Hey there Jute. Marco. How's it hanging over on the losers side…?"

"It's looking fine Barley. You just concentrate on YOUR fight and we'll worry about ours," Jute says stoically.

Ywan breaks in with a little laughter. "And worry he shall. Gerald is among the most powerful members on my team. He's been at many of the vongola's prevalent battles through the ages… and the experience and power to show for it… so you must prepare for a wild battle… Barley… was it? I'll admit I got spooked at your sudden appearance in the apartment however here you do not have the element of surprise," Gerald swings his sword around a bit.

"I don't need you to explain my past Ywan. If you were thinking you'd frighten him… you're wrong. The mist guardians tend to be the least susceptible to mind tricks after all," he simply says before taking his fighting stance. "But I do fully intend and expect to win,"

"We'll see about that…" Zaccaria adds from the side having been mostly quiet up until now. Kotsu gulps feeling the tension as the Cervello raise their hands and the bubble reappears with Gerald's sword extending and Barley just smirks leaning his head back slightly in a confident and condescending manner.

"Let the match… BEGIN!"


	45. Forth heir to the Red Rose

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 45: Fourth heir to the red rose**

the bubble reappears and Gerald's sword extends. His opponent Barley just smirks leaning his head back slightly in a confident and condescending manner in order to ensure he's looking down at the man.

"Let the match… BEGIN!" The Cervello declare and Gerald instantly goes on the attack rushing forward.

"W-wait! Gerald! He-" Tsugemora starts before being silenced by Geraldino.

"Your old man doesn't need you to help him… but you're right… from what a saw with that redhead over there…" He says nudging towards Jute. "He might want to prepare for a storm flame to the face…"

Jute lifts an eyebrow. "A storm-flame you say…?"

"Aren't your hair colors connected to your flame type? That's usually how it goes…"

"Just watch…" He simply says as Gerald comes in for the attack and Barley's hair flames up in a hazy indigo flame, correlating with the mist flame Kotsu saw from Murphy. Gerald swings his sword at him but Barley simply leans back still with his hands in his pockets using his hair to support himself as it's impossible to lean back that far. However with his superhuman reaction Gerald switches the direction stabbing down at him. The young man, still with his hands in pockets rolls backwards making the slice go right between his legs setting off the ground with his hair, however the second he lands Gerald is right up in his face. Barley just keeps dodging with relative ease.

"That blade is interesting… it has no weight, so it's easy to swing without worrying about air resistance…" He says before coming with a surprise kick from the side which Gerald quickly blocks with his free hand, giving Barley a setoff for a jump getting into the air. Gerald holds up the sword where Barley will land and the boy just smirks. "Do you really think an attempt like that will get you anywhere?" He says stopping himself with his hair however suddenly Gerald swings a second blade from behind his bac, right at Barley's hair, taking Barley by surprise, quickly moving his hair out of the way however Gerald gets a good chunk of it cut off. Barley creates some distance.

"You… you bastard! A rosa rossa family's hair is as important as his life!" He yells realizing that if Gerald had gotten the whole attack through he would've sliced off about 50% of Barley's hair.

"So long as you live when I'm done with you… I'm the winner. Your hair is none of my concern,"

Barley starts laughing a bit. "Oh you've done it now… you've REALLY done it now… I'm going to destroy you…" he says as all his hair starts moving out taking the shape of a creature much like Jute's did. His is a giant moth. On the wings the lizard eyes appear. "You're in MY domain now!" He yells as he starts floating. He enters the moth of hair disappearing in it and it starts floating around the arena with Gerald able to do nothing against an enemy that can fly.

"You must come down eventually," He says preparing with both of his swords. The moth starts giving off little sparkling spores. Gerald holds his hand over his mouth in order to avoid breathing any of them in. He leaps back as suddenly Barley comes crashing down into the ground. The moth disappears now only being the wings and he tosses the hair that made up the body towards Gerald. Gerald jumps back, swiftly dodging and swings his blade slicing at the hair cutting it up. "I thought you cared about your hair more than your life!" He mocks and Barley just smirks suddenly evaporating into tons of little moths.

"I do… but I care about destroying YOU more," He states from right behind Gerald and Gerald slices back hitting someone and as he looks he sees Tsugemora now with the blade stuck halfway into the side of his body.

"D-dad…?" The young boy says looking quite surprised and Gerald grits his teeth.

"This illusion won't fool me Barley Rossa…" He says looking towards where Tsugemora is standing however he's completely gone and Kotsu even looks to see where he went suddenly. "W-what? How!? This is impossible!" He looks towards the Cervello who have somehow passed out so they can't even stop the match. "My boy!" He yells pulling the blade away.

"W-why'd you do that dad…?"

"I… I thought it was Barley…" He says looking down to avoid seeing Tsugemora's face as he begins coughing up blood.

Barley suddenly grabs Gerald's hair forcing his gaze up. "What a great father you turned out to be… on opposite teams… not able to help him become strong and look what happened now… you crossed a Rossa rosa family member… and now got your own son hurt beyond repair…" He says disappearing again as multiple more Tsugemora's appear around him all laying dead. "So how does it feel? Hurting the ONE person you swore to protect above the boss!" He yells as everything catches fire. Laughter from Barley starts filling his head coming from all around, giant heads appearing everywhere laughing at him.

"Stop it… stop it! STOP IIIIIT!" He yells and starts swinging his sword around furiously at the heads. Barley appears in front of him.

"It'll never stop… you've done something unforgivable and paid the price… eternal torment…" He says smirking that devilish smirk and starts laughing again. Gerald screams and stabs him right through the head, but he doesn't even seem fazed. "Does stabbing me make it go away…? Does it!?" He yells grabbing Gerald's hair and keeps stabbing himself with it all over all the wounds repairing themselves.

"n-no…" He starts before falling to his knees grabbing his head shaking.

Barley is standing in the bubble everyone confused as to what's happening as Gerald is just standing there looking at the eyes of Barley's moth wings, tears flowing down his cheeks. He has a few strands of Barley's hair wrapped around his head going into his ears.

"W-what're you doing to dad!?" Tsugemora yells from the sideline.

"I think that's plenty…" Barley says before pulling his hair back and his hair sets itself back to normal.

Gerald has a sharp breathing spike and falls to his knees grabbing his head. "I-It went away… W-what… happened…?" He says shaking out of fear of remembering what he just saw.

"Simple… when I shot my hair at you I'd made some of it invisible… that was easy… it caught you and you got trapped in my illusion," With that Gerald falls forward passing out from too much mental bombardment. "That's what you get for cutting my hair…"

the bubble disappears and Tsugemora runs to check on his father. "Father!? FATHER!? Are you alright!? FATHER!?" He yells and Gerald slowly comes to again seeing Tsugemora's worried face.

"T-Tsugemora… you're alive…? That's wonderful… I… I saw you die…"

Tsugemora gulps a little. "B-but I'm not dead! I'm alive… i-it was just a trick!"

"I know that now… but I still killed you in that trick…" He says and before Tsugemora can answer he feels Ywan looming over him.

"G-Go away! He's in shock!" Tsugemora yells getting up to protect his father even from the brooding deadly man.

"I am aware… However he's in my care… he will be fine. Pietro is a master of helping people get over traumatic illusions," He says and Tsugemora slowly steps aside. Ywan picks him up and starts walking towards Pietro, stopping halfway looking back. "As my enemy I would kill you where you stand for being in my way… but currently you're this man's child… as that… I can assure you he will be alright," he says and Tsugemora slowly bows his head.

"T-thank you…" He just says before going back to Kotsu who's looking after Barley who doesn't seem to be reprimanded by Zaccaria at all.

"Good work Barley…" He simply says and Kotsu grits his teeth.

"How can you say that!? He nearly broke his mind!"

"He won… that's all that matters…" he just says before spinning on his heel and everyone on the team get out of his way feeling quite a lot of anger. "Now… we're done here…" He says walking away. The Cervello hold up their hands.

"The score is currently: Kotsukiba: two wins. Ywan: one win. Zaccaria: three wins. Tomorrows battles will be decided at random as there's no need to draw the remaining guardians!" They declare before leaving along with Ywan's group.

Tsugemora looks a little sad. "I-is father going to be alright…?" Kotsu and Ren put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll be fine…" Ren says and Primo nods in agreement.

"He may be cruel, but he truly does care for the family… now… let's get home as well," He says and begins walking away. Kotsu looks after Zaccaria's group also having sensed an intense amount of anger coming from Zaccaria.

 **-NII-**

Outside Zaccaria stops walking right outside of the mall. "Kagetora…? Are they gone?" He says and Kagetora quickly leaps up the building seeing that Kotsu's group and Ywan's group are far away.

"Affirmative…" He says and everyone makes some distance except Barley who has no clue what's going on.

"um… guys… what's this?" He says chuckling a bit nervously suddenly getting slammed into the ground with Zaccaria standing over him with the two large katars on his hands. "Hey! What's the big idea!?" He yells and tries getting up when Zaccaria stomps on his chest to keep him down.

"I told you to WIN without going overboard! You showed him killing his own son!" He yells angrily, very different from his earlier statement.

Barley grits his teeth and his hair flares up. "Careful Zaccaria… I'll break you too… a child like you should be easy to take care of!" He yells right back forcing himself to his feet and away from Zaccaria using his hair.

"You will most certainly not… If you try something like that you'll be a goner before you get the chance… mark my words Barley… I do NOT approve of you," He says walking away. Barley just tsks and laughs a little.

"That bastard deserved it! Cutting up my hair like it's no big deal! I should've kept it up until he broke for real!" He yells when Zaccaria stops. Everyone on his crew gulps and gets more distance even though they're already really far away. Zaccaria takes out a ring which has quite a special appearance. It's five small orange spheres connected in the middle where the ring itself is.

"'That bastard'… is Gerald Gagliardi… one of the greatest men we have in the Vongola family… strong and kind… a combination sorely needed… he merely wished to win for the sake of the family… Barley… you may be on my team… but you can't go around saying and doing whatever you like just because we're the bad guys… your actions have consequences…"

"Yeah! A mild scolding from a kid!? Some consequence…" He says when Zaccaria looks back with those piercing orange eyes.

"Oh no no no… your consequence is just getting started…" He says slowly turning around looking quite angry and eerily scary.


	46. A problem of numbers

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 46: A problem of numbers**

Kotsu slowly wakes up in the morning. It's almost the second to last day of the field trip to Tokyo… As yesterday Primo is laying on the floor on his little mat. From what he remembers the last two days are given to them to just fool around since it's not everyday people from Namimori get to go to Tokyo. So that means he has no group building with everyone. He suddenly jumps up and quickly gets dressed before blasting out the door. "She's fine Kotsu… Geraldino's taken her to our finest doctor…" Primo says getting up, knowing that Kotsu's worried about Rinoka. "And Reishiro's also doing okay… a good night's sleep next to Ren made all his injuries go away."

Kotsu lets out a relieved sigh. "Oh thank god… I'm glad…" He says smiling before properly getting ready with brushing his teeth and making sure his hair is set right. "But I'm still gonna go check up on them…" He adds heading out with Primo following shortly.

Rinoka is still sleeping soundly and as Kotsu opens the door he's met with quite a dangerous sight. Geraldino's eye in the small crack in the door he's opened holding it closed. "Master's sleeping… go away," He simply says before trying to close the door.

"H-hey… Is she okay?"

Geraldino just closes the door. "If she wasn't she wouldn't be here…" is the final comment he gets before the door shuts.

"I… I'm sorry…" He just says hoping she'd understand and sure enough Rinoka moves around a little giving a slight smile in the room.

"God dammit… all this sentimental crap…" Geraldino says sitting on his chair again looking at the bed.

Afterwards it's onto Reishiro and right as Kotsu's about to open the door to their room, knowing Ren's likely out for his morning run, the door opens. "Ah! Mini-Ren…" Reishiro says and Kotsu blinks a few times.

"A-are you feeling alright…?"

"Why would I be feeling bad?" He says tilting his head.

"because of yesterday!"

"Ah! Sokaaa… yeah… I'm feeling good… I like my dad…" He says giving a weak smile seeming to only remember his father being present yesterday.

"N-no argh… whatever!" he says not bothering with the boy. It's most important that he's alright. As he begins to walk away he notes the zombie-like boy walking behind him. "Why're you following me…?" Kotsu asks a little confused and Reishiro just shrugs.

"I dunno… Ren's not here… and you're mini-Ren…" He just says not really understanding himself. Suddenly out from left flank Tsugemora comes charging at full speed.

"NII-SAAAAAN! There's an assassin!" He yells jumping at Reishiro who suddenly stops right before making Tsugemora fly right past him and crashes into a sofa in the lobby.

"T-Tsugemora…? That's Reishiro…" Kotsu says pointing and Tsugemora jumps up.

"Got it Nii-san! Reishiro is a guardian so he's safe!" He says saluting happily before joining the little group. "So um… What're we doing today Nii-san!? We have the whole day to ourselves! And I'm SUPER prepared for my battle tonight!" He says feeling pumped for the fight. "And if we win BOTH fights tonight then Nii-san wins without a fight! Unless that Zaccaria bastard wins his match with Ywan…" He says gritting his teeth.

Kotsu gulps. "Y-yeah… but I don't even know who the last two of Ywan's guardians are… or if we even stand a chance… and… I don't even know my OWN rain guardian… I hope he's strong…" Kotsu says with Reborn appearing out of nowhere sitting on the sofa.

"The last two of Ywan's guardians are Riccardo and Galileo… Riccardo was the man you met at the station. He's the head of physical training in the vongola family… in other words, save for Neo-good-primo's guardians, he's the physically strongest man in the vongola family. And Galileo… he's the head trainer for flame control… so the same deal… but with flame control… in other words… no matter which one Tsugemora is paired up with he's going to have difficulty winning…" He explains and Tsugemora stomps his foot.

"That's irrelevant! I'll beat either of them! For Nii-san!" He proudly declares.

"About that…" they hear a voice from behind them seeing Primo come walking with Yamamoto and Gokudera. "Your… rain guardian… I DID mention that there was a slight problem…" He says scratching his cheek and Reborn slowly stands to listen. "I uhh… haven't assignment a rain guardian to you…" He says chuckling nervously and Reborn opens one eye and tips his hat back.

"You really ARE useless aren't you? So the best you can hope for is a score of 3-3-3? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard…" He says tipping his hat back down.

"I had a little talk with the Cervello but they never told me the final verdict… if I'm still able to hand out the position… I'm certain Yamamoto would not mind taking it… but I feel he would intrude on your group…" He says with Yamamoto nodding slowly.

"If that's what Tsuna wants then I'd be happy to give you guys a hand as senior guardian of your little group," He says laughing happily.

Kotsu looks to have hope drain from his eyes. "B-but… 'my little group' doesn't really matter when we're talking about the Vongola family!" Primo pats him on the head nodding towards the entrance where Ren comes through along with Fumie and Marco, the latter having Cotton in his arms.

"Of course it does. It's YOUR friends that're supposed to be your guardians not mine. Besides he doesn't really fit in does he?" He says and Yamamoto nods. "It seems your group already HAS a kindhearted person on it anyway," He says pointing to Ren who seems to notice the gesture.

"Good morning mister Primo. What're you all talking about over here?" He asks approaching while Tsugemora seems to almost naturally fall into conversation with Marco as Cotton jumps from the young boy's arms onto the even younger boy's hair where she's always laid before Marco showed up.

"The fact that I don't have a rain guardian…" Kotsu says letting out a depressed sigh realizing the only way to win the ring conflict now is to have a one on one on one match with both of his opponents.

Fumie tilts her head. "I… don't really get it… but it sounds like a pretty bad thing… am I right Ren-senpai?"

Ren thinks a little before giving a shining smile as always. "I guess so. But I'm sure you'll make it just fine lil' bro! You've got enough spirit to stare them right in the face and tell them you'll beat them! If that isn't number one material I don't know what is!" He says and Kotsu chuckles a little.

"I-I guess so… thanks Ren…" He says and Reishiro looks around the group a little.

"We're missing someone…" he just says and everyone looks a little confused, however all becomes clear when the door to Rinoka's room opens up and she comes out looking fine and the giant hulk Geraldino following behind her. She stops seeing the entire group of ten staring at her. Her face slowly fills from the bottom with red almost like she's filling up and proverbial smoke shoots from her ears and she runs back in her room right past Geraldino.

"O-Oi master!" he says pulling her back out before she can slam the door. "Geez. You can't stay in all day," he says before noticing everyone staring and he leans his head back a little. "The hell're you kids starin' at?" he says and all of them who're under 20 avert their gazes except Reishiro who soon follows suit after noticing that everyone's also looking elsewhere wondering what's happening that he needs to look at. Rinoka seems to become a little less embarrassed as she slowly tips up to Primo who stands quite a bit taller and she shyly bows, with an ashamed and almost pained look on her face. "I-I'm sorry mister! Y-y-you picked me… a-and I w-wasn't useful at all… I-I'm sorry…" However unlike she expects Primo just puts a comforting hand on her head.

"No worries Rinoka-chan. You did your best and I'm proud of you. To be honest I wasn't even expecting you to show up. But you did," He says and Rinoka looks up looking quite visibly upset.

"B-b-b-but…" she starts, Primo silencing her with a finger on her mouth.

"No buts Rinoka-chan," He points to the little group. "I think you should spend a little time with your friends today. Most of you guys ARE guardians for a certain someone after all," He says with a little knowing wink causing the young girl to flush over again wanting to cover her face with the notepad she doesn't have.

"O-O-okay…" She says slowly tipping over to Kotsu, trying to keep her distance out of shyness. But Fumie quickly heads up and gives her a big hug to welcome her. Fumie was always the only person whom she easily became comfortable around.

"Welcome back Rinoka-chan! Ren-senpai told me all about your game yesterday! It sounds like you were really brave and cool!" She says and Rinoka blushes a little thinking of how embarrassing her loss was. She had to get saved by Geraldino after all…

Gokudera taps his foot a little. "She doesn't seem very comfortable in that group… can't blame her. Those kids are kinda crazy…"

Primo lets out a little laugh. "You're one to talk Gokudera-kun. I remember OUR school days weren't exactly normal either,"

"In that case I'll go… make sure they're treating her properly and stuff…" Geraldino says stepping to the group as well. "Well… what's the hold up? You guys only have so long until you're gonna get your asses handed to you by whoever you'll end up fighting," He says giving a condescending smirk.

"Y-yeah… b-but… I'm not scared really… even if I'm down one guardian," Kotsu says smiling happily which honestly pissed Geraldino off.

"Right… whatever. So what's the plan Second?" He asks crossing his arms and Kotsu looks around at every single person in the group is waiting for him to tell them today's plan.

"Well um… is there… anything you guys want to do?" He asks as they all begin their march towards the station with lots of ideas being thrown around by Fumie, Tsugemora, Cotton and Ren while Rinoka and Reishiro just stick in the background Geraldino not caring either way.

Primo gently smiles at them. "I can't wait to see you grow up into a fine man Kotsu…" He says before being smacked in the head by Reborn.

"Stop talking about him like you're his father,"

Primo gives a little chuckle. "Well he's never had a good father… so I kind of want to pick up the mantle… I never had a very nice father either…" He just says smiling after Kotsu which he feels is a nice place to end the scene however Reborn gives him another smack in the head.


	47. An amusing time

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 47: An amusing time**

In the end the group of nine decided to go to an amusement park which was quite a ways away from the mall. In his own opinion Kotsu always hated amusement parks, since wild rides were never really his thing, but he guesses he'll be allowed a bit of relaxation on the side. They arrive and everyone looks around for who's going to pay all ending with their eyes on the eldest person present.

"What? You want ME to pay?" Geraldino asks and everyone slowly nods and the young man just shrugs shaking his head. "Why'd you even DECIDE on the amusement park if you don't have anyone to pay?"

Ren gives a little chuckle. "Because it's supposed to be fun! And the weather's GREAT!"

"Yeah! But what about payment!?" Geraldino says and Reishiro points to him.

"Don't worry… that guy will pay…" he says seemingly not realizing that Geraldino himself asked the question.

"I will NOT!"

Rinoka, who's currently holding Cotton look up at him both with puppy-dog-eyes. "Pretty pleeeeeease Geraldino… I-I've never been to an amusement park before… m-my dad always said it's a waste of money…" She pleads and Geraldino still doesn't want to budge and Fumie finally jumps forward pointing to him dramatically.

"You coward! Not wanting to spend money even when a pair of pretty girls look at you like that! What kind of a man are you!?" She yells before Geraldino suddenly's had enough and glares at them all silencing every one of them, only silencing Fumie's voice as she still looks angrily at him.

"Call me a coward ONE more time… and we'll change plans and go to the hospital instead… fine… I'll pay for your… stupid amusement park rides…" he says gritting his teeth and going up front not liking it one bit. He points to the group for the lady who seems pretty scared of him. "I'm with um… let's see… we got the kid… she's five… the blonde and his weirdo friend are 16… the hotheaded girl, the idiot, and his girlfriend and the butler are all like… 13 or something… and I'm an adult…" he says to her and she puts in the tickets.

"W-will that be admission only or also for the rides…?" She says and suddenly someone pokes her head up front.

"Rides too! Cotton-heika will go on ALL the rides!" She declares and Tsugemora comes up pulling her away.

"S-so… rides too… sir?"

"Yeah… what'll it be?" He asks pulling out his wallet fishing out some money.

"T-that'll be… 41000 yen… sir…" She says and Geraldino grits his teeth.

"That's outrageous…" he says before realizing he's paying for literally nine people for an entire day. "Nevermind… who cares! This is already taking a while! Here!" He says slamming a fresh bundle of yen on the counter. "Keep the change…" He says as she prints out their tickets. He comes back with them as the woman realizes he's given her WAY above what she needed.

He tosses the tickets in Kotsu's face. "There! Happy?"

Kotsu gives him a happy smile. "Yes. Thanks a ton…"

"you owe me one," he simply says as they head inside.

"Sure… I'll think of how to repay you…" Kotsu says truly grateful for him paying. Knowing the brutish young gangster Kotsu expected him to ditch and go somewhere else, but he went inside with them.

Instantly when they get in Cotton jumps out of Rinoka's arms and starts running into the park all alone. "Tiahahahaaaa! Later Mortals! Cotton-heika's going to conquer the whole park!" She yells before feeling her feet leave the ground.

"Now now my lady… it is improper to just run away from your friends," Marco says getting her firmly in his hands with Fumie close behind. Usually it was her job to catch her after all. Everyone comes up and they begin their romp through the park, Kotsu dreading the moment where he'll likely be asked to go on one of the big rides.

"So um… Marco… we've… never really gotten to talk a lot have we?" Kotsu asks causing Marco to chuckle lightly.

"I believe this is the first time we've spoken formally yes," He says and Kotsu's a little surprised by how formal his Japanese is given that he's from the Rosa Rossa. Kotsu's about to talk when Marco holds up his hand to stop him. "Before you speak I would like to make it crystal clear that, while I did not originally plan for this, it is an honor to be part of your little group. Especially seeing how much my lady likes you," He says sending Kotsu a kind smile.

"Uh… thanks… but… Cotton doesn't really like me… does she?" Cotton pouts jumping out of Marco's hands and onto his head pointing dramatically to Kotsu.

"Cotton-heika does NOT like you Mortal-kun!" She says and suddenly jumps off running to a ride for kids. "I wanna go on that one!" She yells and Marco heads after her. Kotsu looks around seeing Tsugemora yelling angrily at Ren while the latter just tries calming him down with Reishiro mimicking Ren's movements and Rinoka hanging back behind Geraldino who's just annoyed.

"I TOLD you idiot! We're heading STRAIGHT for the big rides! Nii-san isn't afraid of something like a roller-coaster!" Tsugemora assures and Ren chuckles nervously.

"L-Listen… he's my little brother… I know him… last time he went on one of the big rides we had to go home early…" he says and Kotsu gets slightly annoyed that he's such a lightweight when it comes to roller-coaster.

"that's a lie and you know it!" Tsugemora yells when suddenly Geraldino snaps at them.

"Alright you two SHUT UP!" he says grinding his teeth. "Master…" He looks back at the frail little girl. "What ride do you wanna try first?" he simply asks and Rinoka looks around a little. She sees Marco and Cotton standing in line for a very small and harmless ride.

"M-M-Maybe that one…" She tries and Geraldino heads over with her, Ren and Tsugemora following. In the cue Kotsu stands right next to her with Geraldino towering over most people in line, behind them. The two look a little uncomfortable which has nothing to do with the gangster among them.

"So um… y-you've never been on a roller-coaster before…?" Kotsu asks and Rinoka looks at the ground almost in shame.

"N-no… i-is it any fun…?"

"W-well I… yes… it can be fun…" He says as they get in a cart together and people look quite stricken as Geraldino enters the ride for little kids getting in a cart all by himself looking annoyed at all the people avoiding him. Kotsu and Rinoka sit together, Rinoka really nervous for her first ride. Up in front is Marco and Cotton while Reishiro, Ren, Fumie and Tsugemora stay behind to watch over their things. As it starts Rinoka instinctively grabs onto Kotsu's arm for comfort as it starts moving. It's very slow given that it's for children but she soon starts looking around and giggling having a sparkle in her eyes Kotsu's never really seen before. She looks happy and excited… after the little speedy merry-go-round comes to an end Rinoka happily skips out, completely forgetting that she just held onto Kotsu as if her life depended on it before, something that'd definitely make her blush furiously under normal circumstances. However this time it's Kotsu who's looking really flustered as she was hugging him REALLY close.

"T-t-that was really fun! I-I wanna go on another one!" Rinoka declares as Geraldino and Kotsu head out after her.

Marco and Cotton come out as well with Cotton looking mildly sick leading the young butler to chuckle. "It seems my lady did not take well to something that spins rapidly," He says and the crew start walking to the next ride with Rinoka in the lead as she's looking profoundly at all the rides, wanting to try them all.

Kotsu can't help but let on a small smile, being happy for her coming out of her bubble a little bit. "The hell're you smirking at Second?" Geraldino asks looking suspiciously at him.

"I… wasn't smirking at all… I was just… happy for Rinoka… I've never seen her so happy before…" He says and Geraldino scratches his cheek a little sheepishly.

"Yeah… guess that's true… though you've never seen her draw…" He just adds before speeding up to catch up with his 'master'.

 **-NII-**

A little later the group make it through a few more small rides with Kotsu starting to feel the effects of them stockpiling inside him. Tsugemora dramatically supports him by pulling his arm over his shoulder. "Nii-san! I will get you through this! It's my duty!" He yells making all the bystanders think there's some sort of emergency.

"Tsugemora… it's not THAT bad…" He says chuckling getting himself free from the bodyguard's grasp. "By the way… I haven't seen you much lately…" He says and Tsugemora stops walking a bit before banging his head into a nearby wall.

"Dammit! How could I be so ignorant!? I've been so focused on my upcoming trial I completely forgot to protect Nii-san!" He says and Kotsu pulls him away from the wall.

"Enough! Enough! It's fine… nothing really happened anyway… besides I was more referring to how you've been holding up…"

Tsugemora salutes Kotsu happily. "I've been doing good Nii-san! I have become stronger and I will definitely win my upcoming battle! I swear it!" He says pumping his fist.

"Y-yeah… so long as you don't get hurt too much I guess…" He says suddenly feeling a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm happy to hear that you care more about his health than his victory Lil' bro…" Ren says smiling.

"Well of course! He's my friend!" Kotsu says back with a smile.

 **-NII-**

The gang is standing in front of a haunted house within the park. "Are we really going in there…?" Kotsu asks and Tsugemora jumps up in the air along with Cotton on his head.

"YEAH! It'll be fun! I'll protect you if you get scared Nii-san!" Tsugemora declares and Cotton grins devilishly.

"Cotton-heika will not be defeated by stupid tricks!"

"I suppose if my lady says so, then it is so…" Marco adds and Rinoka gulps a little before looking to Kotsu.

She blinks a little before scooting up next to him. "I-I-I… um… I'll go too… i-i-i-if K-Kotsu-san is there… t-then it's safe…" She says remembering the time at the station where he protected her from NM-5.

Everyone looks to Geraldino. "Are you coming too Geraldino?" Ren asks and Geraldino looks to the side with a bit of sweat on his forehead.

He tsks trying to sound annoyed. "As if I'll waste my time with that…" He says gulping and Fumie laughs loudly.

"You're scared of ghosts aren't you Geraldino!?" Geraldino glares back to the girl hoping to make her freeze from his gaze, but she doesn't as she's still mad at him about the whole being kidnapped thing.

"I. am. NOT!" He yells angrily, but from the way he's standing a little closed off trying to avoid eye-contact it's pretty sure to say he is. Kotsu is honestly stunned at this guy sometimes… he was such an imposing figure when they first met… what Kotsu considered the most evil person he'd ever met… but now he's becoming oddly… human… he has hobbies, like drawing… and fears too… Ghosts…

"Come on Geraldino…" Kotsu says gulping a bit. "Y-you're part of the group too you know…?" He says and everyone nods.

Geraldino grits his teeth scratching the back of his head before finally letting in. "Fine! But I'm NOT going to walk in the lead!" He yells and they all venture into the haunted house.

After walking a few steps inside the first scare pops out making a loud booming sound and Rinoka hugs close to Kotsu again as the latter freezes up completely, however Cotton just laughs as Tsugemora stands ready. "TIAHAHAAA! Foolish puppet! You cannot scare the great Cotton-heika!" She yells running further into the house.

Kotsu chuckles a little bit as they all walk further into the house of spook and scares. "I… I guess she's not easily spooked…" He says before remembering how terrified she was of Jute at first and how scared she was of Barley. Even more so in fact… though that guy WAS really creepy…

 **-NII-**

The moving through the haunted house goes on with lots of screaming from Kotsu and Geraldino surprisingly, while Rinoka cowers, Ren jumps and laughs at the silliness with Fumie using the opportunity to get close to him, Tsugemora is about to shoot everything with his new wire gun, Cotton mocks the uncreativeness of the scares, Marco trying to calm her down and Reishiro not understanding a single thing of what's happening.

After exiting and thankfully not having broken anything from Tsugemora's attempts, they all decide to get an ice-cream and go to a picnic area. "I still don't get why 'I' have to pay for you… I didn't even wanna freaking go…" Geraldino says licking his strawberry flavored ice-cream. Rinoka had the same.

"B-because you're the oldest I guess…" Kotsu says laughing sheepishly. Marco and Cotton both got a liquesce flavor, while Ren and Reishiro got vanilla and Kotsu got chocolate. Rinoka, Marco and Fumie are currently playing with Cotton a bit away, Marco staying in the background a little away from them for some reason.

"Well thank you for paying Geraldino… that was very kind of you," He says smiling.

"Oi… shut it goodie-two-shoes," He just answers with Ren taking a defensive step back.

"Hey now I was just thanking you…" He says and Geraldino is about to get more angry moving towards Ren when suddenly Reishiro pokes Geraldino's nose with his ice cream.

"Isn't this supposed to be fun sir? Getting angry won't make anything more fun…" He simply says and Geraldino is a bit annoyed about that ability he apparently has to just disappear…

"G-guys… Let's just enjoy ourselves… please…" Kotsu pleads and Tsugemora points his wire gun at Geraldino.

"You heard Nii-san! Even if it's you I won't let you go against him Geraldino!" He yells and Geraldino smirks.

"Sure… let's do that…" he says almost deviously.

 **-NII-**

The group enter the section of the park with some of the bigger rides, Rinoka looking a bit afraid yet excited to try them with how much fun she thought they were before. However Kotsu can almost already feel his ice-cream coming back up again just looking at the drop on the very first one. The girl looks almost determined at him. "K-K-Kotsu-san! I-I-I w-w-w…" She starts pointing a bit and Kotsu sweats a little, but the way she's looking at him like that, having trouble with her words in a mix of her usual shy stutter and excitement really makes her much cuter than usual.

"S-sure…" Kotsu says gathering the courage to go on them again and Ren comes up behind them.

"Let's all go together then!" He says pushing them ahead. It seems Cotton and Tsugemora are both too short, much to Tsugemora's dismay as he's 'leaving Nii-san unprotected'. Kotsu and Rinoka sit in the ride and lock themselves in Kotsu immediately regretting the decision. However Ren and Fumie get in behind them and Ren chuckles a little.

"It's good to see you retrying something like this Kotsu! After seeing you flying around with that fork I don't think this is so bad,"

Fumie smiles happily. "Yeah! You were totally awesome when you beat up Geraldino!"

Kotsu gives a nervous chuckle. "Y-yeah… but it's still a little different… I'm in hyper dying will mode when I use my fork… like Fumie said… I'm a lot more awesome, cool and more resistant to such things in that form…" He says as they start going up. Kotsu glances to Rinoka who's looking around a little. "A-are you okay Rinoka?"

Rinoka blushes a bit before starting to speak blushing more and more as the words come out. "I-I think you're cool n-no m-m-matter-" She starts but is cut off when suddenly they reached the top and start flying down at massive speed, Kotsu almost passing out from the sudden shift. Luckily for him there's no loop on this ride or he'd really lose it. However it seems Rinoka is loving it laughing the whole time, Ren and Fumie taking the time on the pass-by to wave at the rest of the group standing and waiting for them.

Kotsu gets off legs wobbling quickly being greeted by Tsugemora who gives him a hand. "T-that was… fun…" He says shaking his sickness off. Ren has fallen into conversation with Fumie at this point and they go to check out their picture on the ride. Kotsu's cartoonishly crying and screaming in terror while Rinoka is laughing. Ren is giving the camera a peacesign and Fumie is looking happy to be on the ride.

"Oh… damn… I guess I should've made a face at the camera along with you Ren-senpai," Fumie says snapping her fingers. Rinoka blushes seeing it, not used to seeing pictures of her smile so genuinely.

Kotsu looks almost annoyed that he's such a wimp. They all leave and rejoin the rest of the group. "T-that was… v-v-very fun Kotsu-san…" Rinoka says a little embarrassed. "C-can we go on another!?" she says pointing to some of the others.

"I-I might die if I do that…" Kotsu says but just sighs looking at her. "But sure! I… wanna give you a good day!" He says and Rinoka is almost blown back by his kindness.

Geraldino crosses his arms looking at the two of them as they start the walk to the next cue both looking away. "Those two… is it just me or…?" He starts with Ren just laughing.

"Well let's leave them to figure THAT out. It's complicated after all!" He says, Geraldino noting Fumie look at him so lovingly.

"Yeah yeah mister lover boy," The gangster just replies.

 **-NII-**

In the end they went on every single ride, Kotsu getting progressively more sick with each one, but enduring it even forcing smiles on all the photos and in the end everyone's had a grand time. They all end getting Geraldino to pay for a picture of them all. They all stand at the ready for the photo, but as he counts down Cotton jumps out of Marco's arms, leading the older boy to reach for her, Fumie holding back Tsugemora who's pointing to Cotton with his wiregun, Kotsu getting startled and Rinoka moving slightly away from the commotion. Reishiro just looking at the camera like nothing's happening, Ren laughing and Geraldino just looking annoyed, ending up with a very hectic photo.

"A-are you sure you want this…?" The photographer asks and Geraldino just grabs the photo.

"I paid for it so yeah…" He says and Rinoka gently takes it from him seeing the pretty frame. She starts crying slightly holding it close to her. Tsugemora and Marco who's trying to catch Cotton, all stop to look at her.

"H-hey…" Kotsu starts, Ren seconding the question. "Are you okay…?"

"I'm just… I'm so happy…" She says hugging the picture close to her, as her eyes swell up with tears. "I-I-I've never…" She tries before sniffing heavily. "I-I-I-I've… I've never… h-had any friends… t-to make memories like this with and… and I'm just so happy!" She says as Ren gestures everyone in for a group hug.

"Come on guys… it's been a fun day… and we loved having you with us Rinoka… you're more than welcome in our little group," He says and everyone seconds except Geraldino.

"O-Oi… I'm not part of your little posse," He tries but Ren just pulls him in anyway.

"Oh shush you. You had a good day too. Admit it,"

"Never…"

Kotsu just happily smiles hugging his little group of friends. Happy to have them all… no matter how overprotective… happy-go-lucky… shy… crazy… odd… no matter what they're like. He's happy to have them…

Just outside the park on top of the entrance sign someone's sitting very casually, looking down at them. It's Zaccaria. He smirks slightly to himself. "It's good to see how much you care Kotsukiba… the world needs more people like you in that aspect…"


	48. Tsugemora's moment

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 48: Tsugemora's moment**

After the visit to the amusement park the gang head home for the day grabbing a nice big dinner and get some rest, before Tsugemora's big match. Kotsu is laying on his bed basically doing nothing but wait until curfew is over so they can head out for the final battle. He's incredibly nervous for a multitude of reasons. Zaccaria is currently at three victories. His rain guardian Kagetora… his storm guardian Ricci and his mist guardian Barley all won. Ywan is at a single win with his rain guardian Albert luckily, but from the way Reborn spoke of his remaining two they're both incredibly powerful. They met Riccardo at the train station and it seemed that he was easily outclassing them all at the time… the same goes for Zaccaria's remaining guardians… NM-5 was able to easily overpower Kotsu during their confrontation and from the way Boris was described to him during his training he's among the most powerful members of the Vongola family… not many people get a mafia name after all… and especially not one like Boris 'the demolisher'. But that's not what worries him the most… what worries him is Tsugemora… standing against such powerful people makes him seem weak, but Kotsu knows he's not. He has a never-ending desire to sacrifice himself for victory. And against ANY of the four possible opponents Kotsu can't help but feel that he will get hurt really badly… and since he can't feel pain he'll keep on fighting until he can no longer move… and Kotsu doesn't want that.

The person in question bursts in the room. "Nii-san!" He yells jumping at Kotsu without hesitance in where he was. "It's time! I will make you proud!" He yells dragging Kotsu along.

"I-I got it Tsugemora. I got it," He says pulling away a little roughly leading Tsugemora to look a little bepuzzled at him.

"I-Is everything alright Nii-san?"

"I'm just… worried about you…" He says as they join the rest of the group. It's the final day so all of his guardians are joining the usual group.

Tsugemora just grins confidently. "Don't worry Nii-san! I will win!" He says before running to the group clearly excited about his match.

"That's not what I…" Kotsu trails off realizing he's not listen anymore.

 **-NII-**

The crew exit the station, quickly making their way to the mall coming in from where Zaccaria usually exits. They notice something quite… unsettling about the surrounding area. There're several large craters, the pavement is cracked and it looks like quite a big battle took place here. Kotsu's about to ask, but judging from all the adults' faces he sees he won't get an answer which might be even more unsettling. They enter the mall and the giant hole Reishiro made is still under repair. From what Kotsu saw earlier that day the mall is 'under complete renovation' during the day while they fix it up.

Inside everyone's waiting as always. "Why am I not surprised…? Kotsukiba is the last to arrive…" Ywan says grunting silently.

"W-well we have to catch a train you know…" Kotsu says, attempting a comeback but it clearly doesn't work as indicated by Reborn's palm slapping him in the back of the head.

"Shut up Klutsu," He just says as the Cervello hold up their hands.

"Welcome all of you. Today is the third and potentially final day of the ring conflict! Today we will be holding the following matches. First is Kotsukiba's thunder guardian meeting Ywan's cloud guardian. Secondly Zaccaria's cloud guardian will face Ywan's sun guardian and finally Kotsukiba's rain guardian will face Zaccaria's sun guardian," they declare.

Boris on Zaccaria's team grunts a little annoyed. "So I get to go last huh? Tedious… talk about saving the best for last…"

Ywan smirks almost knowingly at Kotsukiba's group. "I have a feeling the final match will be underwhelming," He says causing Kotsu to gulp. Does he know about his situation…?

"Let's get started!" Tsugemora yells rushing onto the field with his wire gun already out and ready.

Ywan's cloud guardian, Galileo steps forward as well winding back his arm a little. He's the only one of Ywan's guardians who doesn't have a beard, instead simply being a much older man with grey hair with a few black strands remaining. However he's wearing some odd clothing. His shirt has a giant crocodile skull on the shoulder, which connects to the spinal bone, which goes over his shoulder where the last piece of the spine is, which is in the shape of a spike. "So we shall… It's a shame… Tsugemora. Such a promising young man… Tsugemora 'the zombie'… it's almost disgraceful to think you were assigned to the wrong group…"

Tsugemora grits his teeth a bit pointing his gun at him. "Take that back! I was put on the EXACT team I want to be on! And no other! Nii-san was NOTHING like I thought he'd be! But he's the most awesome person in the world and I'll do anything I can to make him become boss!" He yells and the bubble appears around the two of them.

"Let the seventh match… BEGIN!" They yell and Galileo smirks holding out his hand making his flame appear from his vongola ring.

"I suppose it's time for a lesson then… a lesson in both manners… and flame control. As far as I can see… you have none," He says casually as the crocodile skeleton over his shoulder suddenly expands adding more spinal pieces and he grabs a handle inside the skull making the eyes light up with cloud flame and grabs hold of the tail bone. Tsugemora gulps as suddenly Galileo tosses the tail bone towards him making it extend using his cloud flame. Tsugemora attempts to grab it, but right as he does it retracts just a tiny bit and Galileo swings it to the side as it extends past him, knocking Tsugemora to the side, however as he's unable to feel pain he manages to stand his ground and he shoots the wiregun at the older man. He retracts the spine simply knocking the hook aside with the skull on his hand. However as it now lays flat Tsugemora swings the gun, making the wire whip up and around Galileo, the older man noting how similar it was to his own attack just now. However the hook latches onto the wire after wrapping itself around Galileo, however right before Tsugemora can pull and firmly secure it, Galileo jump out of the hoop instead shooting the tail bone into it using his cloud flame making it stuck however he simply pulls on it yanking Tsugemora towards him. He doesn't let go of the wiregun allowing Galileo to get in close, pointing the skull right at his face before it blasts cloud flames right at him sending the young bodyguard flying back with the wire retracting after Galileo gets it out of his bone weapon.

"I surely hope you weren't thinking I would go easy on you because your father is a friend of mine. Or because you've trained under my partner Riccardo when you were younger," He says and Tsugemora simply stands, having a few bad burns and the top of his shirt is ripped to pieces.

"No way… I wasn't expecting something like that…" he says picking up his gun again and flicking a little switch before shooting it again and the tip of the gun shoots out with it, at the very tip. Galileo simply holds up the skull to block as he did before when suddenly the tip fires two smaller hooks out to each side around him and they quickly reattach on the other side and as before Galileo tries jumping out of it but it gets stuck on his foot and Tsugemora flicks a switch sending electricity through the wire and Galileo gets a constant shock, however seeing as he's trained he only shows pain for a few seconds before blasting the tail towards Tsugemora again, however Tsugemora just moves to the side wrapping the wire around the end of the bone. Galileo swings the tail at him again sending him flying into the side of the bubble before retracting it slightly and stabbing it at him once more cutting right at his stomach. He keeps going at him with the bone seeing as otherwise he'll pass out from too much electricity running through him. Tsugemora manages to barely dodge most of the attacks but ends up getting some nasty scratches and wounds, though they don't bother him. Galileo grits his teeth seeing how Tsugemora doesn't seem to let go of the gun. He retracts his bone fully making the wire slip off the bone and he suddenly stabs himself in the foot with it ending it right into the ground.

"W-what're you doing!?" Galileo grits his teeth pointing the skull at Tsugemora firing a few blasts off forcing the young boy to dodge.

"Blood conducts electricity… and now it's going into the ground…" He says and Tsugemora realizes the electricity from his gun is just flowing into Galileo's foot and then into the ground doing no damage. He quickly sees he'll need a new strategy. He makes the wire retract and turns off the electricity. Galileo retracts the bone from his foot and the ground. "I'll admit that took me by surprise Tsugemora… but you're not strong enough to beat someone like me…" He says but Tsugemora doesn't look discouraged at all.

"I WILL win Galileo! For Nii-san!" He yells steadfastly holding his gun towards Galileo at all times while the two walk around in a stalemate circle.

Rinoka looks mortified at all the blood surrounding the young boy, as Tsugemora spits some to the side. "H-h-he's g-getting really hurt… C-c-can't you do anything Kotsu-san?" She asks and Kotsu looks really frustrated, knowing that he can't.

"I-I wish I could… b-but he has to get knocked out just like everyone else… I hate this…" He says and Ren puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey… it's Tsugemora we're talking about… he'll try his best to win… and he's doing it for you… so believe in him…"

"But… he's hurting himself!" Kotsu cries out angrily and Ren turns to the fight.

"Yeah… I really wish it didn't have to be like this… but…" He lets on a little sheepish smile. "It's not much… but I take comfort in knowing that he's not in pain…"

Cotton shakes her tiny fist at Tsugemora. "You'd better not lose Tsugemortal or Cotton-heika will destroy you!"

Tsugemora lets on a smirk as Galileo charges forward again. He shoots the bone forward and Tsugemora counters with his wiregun shooting it to the side before charging forward himself. "You got it Cotton! I won't lose!" He yells, tucking the gun away at his hip much to Galileo's surprise, as he takes out his normal fiber wire swinging it at Galileo quickly before the older man has time to react it wraps around his neck. Tsugemora jumps up and over Galileo's shoulder pulling him straight to the ground using the momentum of his body. However right as he sees Galileo land he notes the crocodile skull pointed straight at him and he's blasted back by a quick burst of cloud flame.

Galileo stands up as Tsugemora recovers. "Enough of this… I'll admit that you've taken more damage than you should be able to withstand… but no matter how good a thunder guardian you can be… I'm still stronger…" He says shooting the tail at Tsugemora again and Tsugemora grabs hold of it getting some nasty rips on his hands, however as he does so he suddenly sees the skull flying straight at him, 'biting' him over the stomach and it pins him against the bubble. "You honestly thought the tail was the only part I could fire off?" He says slowly approaching the boy making the bones revert as he gets closer, while still holding Tsugemora in place.

"D-DAMMIT!" Tsugemora yells trying his hardest to remove the skull, but it seems it's been reinforced.

"Now… I know you Tsugemora… it'll take much more than ordinary bruises to get you to pass out… and I kind of don't want to do that as you ARE the son of someone I care about…"

Kotsu grits his teeth on the sideline. Both because he doesn't want to see Tsugemora get beaten up so badly. But also because if Tsugemora doesn't win they'll lose the ring conflict… "S-stop! C-can't you just… LET him surrender!?" He yells at the Cervello, who simply shake their head.

"No can do Kotsukiba… such are the rules…"

Galileo pulls Tsugemora back smashing him into the ground. "I-It's okay Nii-san… I-I'll tire him out this way…" He just says still confident he'll win. Galileo swings him into the air, swinging the tail into his side and he crashes into the bubble getting pinned by the skull again. "I-I'll never give in! This means the world to Nii-san! You can't break me Galileo!" He yells and Galileo grits his teeth.

"It doesn't matter how much he cares! I'm here to win as well! And I have you beaten!" He yells pulling Tsugemora close again, and smashes him point-blank into the ground at his feet. "Just give in! I don't want to do this to you!" He yells but Tsugemora just lets him.

"Nii-san! I'll win… I… I swear it!" He yells now bleeding from his forehead. Galileo tosses him along the ground and Tsugemora tries standing but finds that it's a lot more troublesome than it usually is.

"I-Is there nothing we can do!?" Kotsu yells at the large group of people he's with all looking almost pained seeing Tsugemora get beaten up so badly.

He notes how hard Reborn is gripping his sleeve standing and trying to hold back his anger. "No… there's nothing… these are the rules… besides… if he doesn't win you'll lose…" Kotsu clenches his fist before suddenly jumping up and punches Reborn right in the face, however the hitman barely flinches.

"How can you say that at this point!? How heartless can you be!? I don't give a crap about winning at this point! My friend's getting hurt beyond any reasonable measure and you're concerned about winning!?" He yells angrily. Reborn looks down at him seeing the tears rolling down his face.

Galileo swings Tsugemora into the bubble again before shooting the tail at him. "Lay down! DO IT!"

"NEVER!" Tsugemora yells back seeing the tail come straight for him.

However suddenly something stops the tail in its path. "This is over… even if it means I lose…" Kotsu says in his hyper dying will mode having blocked the attack with his fork. Everyone, even the two other boss candidates, are a bit caught off guard. He broke through the bubble so easily… Galileo let's go of Tsugemora retracting the skull and tail. Tsugemora tries landing on his feet, but fails due to having lost all feeling in them mostly. Kotsu catches him.

"B-but Nii-san… now I'll get disqualified… j-just like Rinoka…"

"That's okay… I'd rather lose than see you getting beaten up so badly…"

"B-but I can still fight…" However Kotsu just shakes his head.

"No it's over… you can rest now… don't worry about losing…" He simply says and Tsugemora starts crying.

"I-I'm so useless… I couldn't do anything against Geraldino when you were in danger and now I failed you again Nii-san! I'm the worst bodyguard ever!" Kotsu stands up and looks to the Cervello.

"This is my loss… but I just want to say…" He says as Ren comes to pick Tsugemora up to heal him with his aura. Kotsu points his giant fork at them. "You people are despicable…" He looks to Galileo expecting to tell him off as well but Galileo is just smiling happily at him.

"Thank you… I don't know how much more of that I could take… hurting someone who can't even defend themselves…" Kotsu just walks past him without another word and even with how strong he is, Galileo can't help but feel quite outmatched just from his walk and look.

"With this Kotsukiba Niruo has lost due to interfering… We will move on to the next fight…" they simply says and Kotsu grits his teeth hearing how little they care. He grips his fork hard, but before he can move he feels Reborn's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't… they pride themselves on absolute impartialness. But the bigger question is… what will you do now…?" He asks as Kotsu's flame disappears.

"I'll watch the final match… and then I'll go home… and… work on school…" He says smiling, seemingly happy to have saved his friend at the cost of his future.

"the next match will be Zaccaria's cloud guardian versus Ywan's sun guardian," The Cervello state however Riccardo doesn't move forward looking towards Kotsu and his group as Ywan is heading over.

Kotsu looks up at the brooding man, and sees not anger or pity, but mostly sorrow. "I'm sorry Kotsukiba… if there had been another way to end that fight I would have ordered Galileo to do just that… you may be my enemy but as far is I have seen… you are all worthy of being members of the Vongola family…" He says bowing apologetically.

"T-thank you… t-that's… very kind of you…"

"But don't think this means we'll seek victory any less. I'm simply apologizing for not looking into the rules thoroughly enough…" He heads back to his own group.

"Now if you would…" The Cervello say gesturing for Riccardo to step forward.

"It's alright… I think I will wait until Tsugemora is safely to his feet," He says crossing his arms stubbornly.

Meanwhile MN-5 has already gotten into position and is running maintenance check on his body. _"Weapons… 90% locked… 10 percent power… boosters… 20 percent…"_ He says sounding surprisingly confused for a machine. _"Restraints… 0 out of 50 available…"_ he looks back at Zaccaria. _"Reason: unknown?"_

On Zaccaria's team Boris grits his teeth. "I can't believe those bastards… lettin' Galileo beat on that kid like that…" He says having a kind view on children. Ricci shrugs a bit.

"That's the harsh reality of everything I guess… those Cervello guys really have no shame… but that's one of their strongpoints," Kagetora does a little handsign in front of his face.

"Thus is the way of combat… ruthless and uncaring. There is no mercy in battle," he says with Faust rubbing the back of his head looking at the two Cervello.

"I mean yeah… but they still could've called it off since the winner was clear…"

"The winner seemed clear with Antonio's match as well, but that Reishiro guy won quite easily using Vendetta…" Zaccaria says and looks to Kotsu's team where Reborn and Ren are healing the young boy up using their sun flames. "Looks like we're about ready… RICCARDO! What do you say we get this started!? You're wasting our time!" He yells angrily and Riccardo grunts a bit before stepping forward.

"Fine then! Seems he's going to be fine with Reborn there…" He says stepping into the arena and the bubble appears again. "Before we begin I have a question… NM-5 is an autonomous machine with no pilot or controller… how do I defeat him? If I were to knock him out you cannot check if he's alive or not as he has no pulse.

"We've already thought of that… NM-5 runs on a power core inside his body. Remove it and he will be unable to move, but destroy it and it will be the same as killing him, even if we have spares," They say and NM-5 opens up his chest just to show him where it is.

"Sounds fair… breaking a body of steel doesn't sound too tough," Riccardo says jumping a bit to loosen up before taking a fighting stance.


	49. The final battle of the ring conflict?

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 49: The final battle of the ring conflict?**

Riccardo steps into the arena and the bubble appears around him and his opponent: NM-5. "Before we begin I have a question… NM-5 is an autonomous machine with no pilot or controller… how do I defeat him? If I were to knock him out you cannot check if he's alive or not as he has no pulse.

"We've already thought of that… NM-5 runs on a power core inside his body. Remove it and he will be unable to move, but destroy it and it will be the same as killing him, even if we have spares," They say and NM-5 opens up his chest just to show him where it is.

"Sounds fair… breaking a body of steel doesn't sound too tough," Riccardo says jumping a bit to loosen up before taking a fighting stance.

"Let the eighth match… BEGIN!" They say and Riccardo takes a deep breath before launching forward.

NM-5 quickly does computations. _"Opponent: Riccardo. Strength: 10, speed: 6, durability: 7, flame control: 4, capacity: 4. Optimal strategy: found… chance of success… 30%..."_ He speaks at a speed which is so fast no one can even hear what he's saying. He dodges out of the way with his rocket boosters flying into the air. _"Computing chance of success with full capability… 97%. why did you do this Zaccaria?"_ He says once more before beginning his strategy boosting downward towards Riccardo who throws a strong punch straight at him. He blocks it with his hand, grabbing hold of the man and he spins with his rocket boosters sending Riccardo spinning along the ground. NM-5 lands again, revealing his cannon arm and he fires it at Riccardo who simply punches straight through it before quickly making his way to him, and when he gets close he begins some intense footwork enhanced by his sun flame making afterimages appear around NM-5. The boy simply looks around his eyes shifting rapidly between targets. However before he can determine Riccardo's exact location he starts getting hit from different directions.

Kotsu looks a little confused. "I… I fought that guy… he's… different than he was back then… he's much… slower…" He says thinking back to their very first day when he was completely destroyed by NM-5. He had a lot more weapons back then, each of them with much more impact… "He's holding back for some reason…" He determines and everyone looks confused.

"T-that's a good thing right…?" Ren says. "What if he's just waiting for the right time to go all out…?"

NM-5 gets launched to the side by another strong punch and he notes that he has a dent in his side now. _"Damage: minor. Repairable…"_ He says before Riccardo is suddenly in his face again and NM-5 begins predicting his movements and blocking them all using his arms, kicking in the weakspots to get some cheap hits however Riccardo seems aware of his own weakspots and keeps covering. _"Chance of success… falling… currently: 10%"_ He says once more too fast for Riccardo to hear. However Riccardo is a bit surprised by the look on NM-5's face as he's looking annoyed. After a bit of a scuffle Riccardo connects a palm to NM-5's face sending him flying back doing multiple backflips on the way. He stops himself using his rocket boosters. _"Victory by combat: impossible… alternate method… found,"_ He says slowly this time and suddenly his chest opens up revealing his core and he raises his arm. Riccardo's eyes widen realizing that he's going to 'kill himself' in order to win. He speeds forward jumping into the air knocking NM-5 down holding his hands away from his chest as he's about to close his chest to protect his core so he can destroy it himself using his full boost power to get free from under Riccardo. However the larger man grabs hold of one of the plates trying to slide back into place ripping It back open and as soon as he tries grabbing the core NM-5 sends a shock from his core into Riccardo and he's flung back. NM-5 once more prepares to destroy himself, however right as he's about to stab his core to pieces Riccardo rushes forward, with a pinpoint strike at NM-5's shoulder, knocking it clean off it's hinge and he spin kicks also with perfect precision on his chestplate knocking it off, grabbing his core and punching him in the head ripping it straight from his chest sending NM-5's unconscious shell flying across the battlefield and he holds up NM-5's core.

"There… I win," he says as the bubble disappears and the Cervello confirm that the core is still working my reinserting it into NM-5, who simply wakes up and gets up.

"The winner is Riccardo!" They declare and Riccardo holds out his hand.

"I have never fought a machine such as you before… However I must say you were quite underwhelming," NM-5 simply turns away from him without a word. "Excuse me… did they not program manners into you?" NM-5 picks up his arm Riccardo punched off holding it out for the handshake.

 _"I have little excuse for my poor performance… it was out of my hands,"_ he simply says reattaching his arm as he walks back to Zaccaria's team.

Zaccaria grits his teeth angrily. _"_ How useless can you be…?" he says and NM-5 looks a little confused before reading his face and nodding.

 _"My apologies master Zaccaria,"_ He simply says before heading to the back of the group to repair himself from all the minor damage he took.

Ywan looks a little suspiciously at Zaccaria who just smirks back at him. "What's the matter Ywan!? Scared you might lose there for a second!?" He yells with a confident grin.

Ywan grunts disapprovingly. "I would never be so foolish as to not have faith in my guardians! I believed that he would pull through and he did!"

The Cervello raise their hand. "Now then… shall we move onto the final match?" They say and Kotsu looks up almost depressed. The score at the moment is 2 to Kotsu… 3 to Ywan and 3 to Zaccaria… and this final match… isn't happening since Kotsu doesn't have a rain guardian. So Zaccaria has won. "Will both participants please step forward?" they command and Boris winds back his shoulder before stepping into the arena.

"Guess it's finally me huh? Let's see what you can pull out to oppose me Kotsukiba!" He says smirking as he hits his knuckles together. However his smirk slowly disappears as there's a moment of awkward silence between everyone. "Um… my opponent please?" He asks and Primo fishes the rain ring out of his pocket.

"Well… it just so happens that I've found no one whom I thought would make for a proper rain guardian… I've already explained this to the Cervello…"

There's a bit of silence again as everyone lets it sink in. "WHAT!?" They all yell and Boris grits his teeth.

"The hell's this!? You could've picked ANYONE from our family to do that job! You can't just… NOT do it!" He yells stomping his foot down making the ground crack beneath him.

However suddenly there's a loud laughter through the hall. Everyone gets slight chills as suddenly it's as if a hostile presence has appeared right next to everyone and a pair of deadly ice-blue eyes stare at Boris. "I didn't want to admit it…!" Geraldino starts as he walks forward. "But I kinda liked being with your group yesterday… such a crazy bunch of kids…" He says and Yamamoto once more realizes Geraldino took his sword. "So if you'll let me Primo… I'll take this one on me…" He says holding his hand back gesturing for Primo to toss him the rain ring. "Let's call it payback for being so nice to me even though I tried killing you…" He looks to Kotsu with a slightly creepily happy smirk.

Primo looks to him with a concerned look. "Kotsu…? I won't allow him to if you're not okay with this…"

"I…" Kotsu's about to deny it when he looks at Geraldino and gives a slight smile remembering just how much he did this week. Especially with Rinoka. He helped her get here, train her, look after her, and at the amusement park he was surprisingly human and… nice. "Sure…" He says smiling back at the gangster.

Primo tosses Geraldino the rain ring and he puts it on his finger. "Besides…" he says looking at Boris, with his cold gaze. "I've always wanted to see which of us is stronger Boris… I still remember that time a few years ago when I was sent to assist you in a battle but you'd already finished by the time I got there. I wanna see if that was just luck or skill…" He says and Boris grins almost triumphantly.

"You're about the LAST person I expected to see on that kid's team Ice Wolf! A gangster without mercy like you? Showing compassion?! That's so unlike you!" He yells slamming his fists together.

"What can I say? I guess I'm just feeling a little bored watching so many fights and not having one myself," He says holding out his sword and it lights up with his deep blue rain flame. Kotsu notes how watery it looks and looks to Primo.

"I-I've seen a normal rain flame before Primo… and Geraldino's is a lot different…"

Primo lets on a little smirk as Geraldino prepares his stance and the bubble appears around them. "Well remember our little talk before this whole thing began… about Ywan and Zaccaria…?" He asks and Kotsu gulps.

"Yeah… how… they got to where they are…"

"I told you about seven special people… the cosmic flames… Zaccaria's cosmic sky flame is the most powerful sky flame in the world outmatching even mine…"

"With this new addition… let the ninth match of the ring conflict… BEGIN!" Boris leaps forward towards Geraldino both participants having a deadly glare and fire in their eyes.

"I said we knew of one more cosmic flame back then… and that person… is him! GERALDINO: THE COSMIC RAIN FLAME!" He declares as Geraldino and Boris connect their first attacks.


	50. Best for last

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 50: Best for last**

Geraldino, now revealed as the cosmic rain flame and Boris 'the demolisher' have begun their battle, Geraldino having picked up the mantle in the last second as Kotsu's rain guardian. Both are smirking devilishly as they clash. Boris begins the bout by trying to land a solid hit, which Geraldino blocks with his sword, Boris leaving a faint glow on the sword. Geraldino pushes the attack back with a quick flick of the sword before counterattacking, Boris punching the sword to counter, however his countering impact is severely diminished by Geraldino's rain flame.

The gangster smirks before jumping back to create some distance Boris quickly healing his wounds using his sun flame. "I think I'm about ready to get serious…" He says resting the sword on his shoulder and Boris laughs.

"Don't make me laugh! BLESK BOMBIT!" He yells clenching his fist but there's a bit of silence. Geraldino smirks knowingly.

"What's the matter? Were you expecting something to happen? Maybe an explosion of some kind?" He says slicing his sword along the ground leaving a thin ice trail as the sword is incased in ice. "FROSTBITE!" His sword changes shape in the same way it did when he fought Kotsu. He begins picking up speed as Boris prepares for an assault. He throws a punch and Geraldino simply jumps over it striking down at him, Boris blocking with his free hand but he's forced to his knees as Geraldino uses his block to set off from spreading his ice to Boris' arm. "THIS is Boris 'the demolisher'?" He says shrugging as Boris recovers still with his back turned to Boris. Boris grits his teeth ripping the ice off his arm.

"You bastard…" he says before stomping his foot. "BLESK BOMBIT!"

"I told you that won't wo-" Geraldino starts before suddenly the ground under him explodes. "You placed that when you first ran forward…" he says recovering in the air.

Boris jumps into the air making explosions under his feet for extra height and Geraldino blocks the incoming strike however when the second his fist connects it explodes sending Geraldino flying into the ground making a massive dust cloud fly out and Boris blasts himself down with another explosion. "TAKE THIS ICE WOLF! LOKOT BOMBY!" (Russian: elbow bomb) He yells crashing into him massive a giant explosion. As the dust is flung to the side Geraldino is laying with both hands on his sword of ice having blocked the strike somewhat.

"Damn… I gotta admit…" He pushes Boris back quickly recovering himself with a roll. "ICE FANG!" His sword changes shape into the longer much smoother ice sword. "You're pretty strong Boris… guess those rumors WERE true huh!?" He yells laughing almost happily running towards the brutish Russian.

"They sure are! Let's see what happens if I go all out then!" He yells and his bandages start giving off a faint constant glow and he punches at Geraldino and the second the two make contact there's an explosion. Geraldino's pushed back gritting his teeth in annoyance more than anger. "You can't negate it with your rain flame if it's instant…" Boris says cracking his knuckles.

Geraldino spits some blood to the side. "You got me there," He begins his charge again and right as Boris is about to counter-punch Geraldino stops slamming his fist in the ground making an ice pillar rise, trapping Boris' fist inside it and Geraldino spins around it slicing at his opponent again, but Boris kicks the bottom of the pillar off the ground blocking the strike with the giant pillar which he swings around like it's nothing. As Geraldino's attack is halted by the pillar Boris does an uppercut under it hitting Geraldino straight in the stomach, causing an explosion again and sending him flying back into the bubble and he lifelessly falls to the ground.

Boris makes his other fist explode destroying the pillar around it. "You put up a good fight Ice Wolf… but it's pretty clear I'm stronger…" He says holding up his fist and it starts glowing brighter and brighter. He stands over Geraldino and raises it. "I'll put Kotsukiba's hopes of becoming boss into the ground with this! YADERNOYE ORUZHIYE!" (Russian: Nuclear weapon) He punches down at Geraldino and there's a huge explosion.

"GERALDINO!" Kotsu yells worriedly, everyone having been quite stunned by the intense battle between the two powerhouses.

However Reborn simply smirks. "What are you so worried for…? You should know more than anyone how strong Geraldino is…" He says tipping his hat back slightly as the explosion clears and Boris is standing with his fist planted solidly in the ground and Geraldino standing behind him with his sword being on fire with the blue ice fire. His burning ice form.

Boris falls forward with Geraldino just standing with his back turned. "I guess we're done here…" Geraldino says swinging his sword around with a smirk. "I might've said you were pretty strong Boris… but I never said you could beat me…" He says however Boris manages to hold himself up supporting himself on his arms.

"Oi oi… who said I was done Geraldino…" Boris says getting up slamming his fists together again and it seems to somewhat dull the pain. "I'll crush you! With THIS!" He yells as his shirt rips to shreds from his sheer willpower and the ground beneath him cracks and he leaps forward at an even more amazing speed.

Kotsu gulps seeing Geraldino avoid the insane new speed of Boris, getting slight hits on him from the assassin. Though Kotsu cannot for the life of him see Boris doing anything like a silent assassin.

However Reborn just crosses his arms. "You shouldn't worry about him. As said… he's the cosmic rain flame. Beside that… the rain guardian's duty is to wash away the enemy and end conflicts as efficiently as possible," He grins as Geraldino jumps back.

"Sorry Boris… but I'm ending this…" he says turning his sword to a reverse grip. "ASSAULT OF A THOUSAND BURNING WOLVES!" He declares his sword flaming up even more and it looks to almost crack the ice with how cold it gets and he swings it once sending a massive wave of ice which takes on the form of tons of wolf-sculptures that instantly envelop Boris freezing him solid before the entire thing bursts into rain flames. Geraldino's swing ends with him having his back turned again ending in quite an awesome pose with the giant burning ice sculpture behind him.

"And I don't know anyone who can end a fight better than Geraldino…" Reborn ends.

The bubble disappears and both Zaccaria and Ywan grit their teeth seeing what this now means. Geraldino deactivates his form letting out a relieved sigh. The Cervello raise their hands. "Geraldino is the winner!" They put up the sign and the sculpture breaks falling apart. Everyone looks at it Ywan gritting his teeth while Zaccaria just seems a little grumpier than usual. "The score is now three wins to Kotsukiba, three wins for Ywan and three wins for Zaccaria! Meaning the ring conflict… IS A TIE!" They declare and Kotsu suddenly realizes that Geraldino was fighting as his rain guardian. He was so caught up in the moment he forgot. Kotsu's back in the match!

The Cervello hold out their hand. "We have anticipated this outcome. As well as the other tie outcome of 4-4-1. Since we find ourselves in this predicament we will hold a final round tomorrow! This time the entire mall, in addition to the parking lot will be the fighting stage! Everyone will participate in this battle. All three candidates and all of their guardians. The rules are simple. In order to win this battle a boss will need to collect all of his guardians' rings as well as be in possession of his own. That is all. No one can be eliminated, even if they are unconscious they are still eligible to wake up and keep fighting!"

Zaccaria chuckles a bit. "So… a smart guy will win without knocking anyone out, while someone like Ywan will need to beat up everyone to ensure winning? Sounds reasonable…" He says smirking slightly as Ywan clearly gets annoyed but there's nothing to do.

"I would expect such a tactic from YOU Zaccaria…" Ywan says spinning on his heel. "Now if you'll excuse us we will go and prepare!" He says exiting stage right and Zaccaria does the same.

"I hope you'll make the most of this chance you got Kotsukiba. Not that it'll do you any good," The cosmic sky flame says smirking happily walking out of the room with his guardians. He smirks to himself. "I told you you'd play your role Geraldino…" He says to himself mostly.

Geraldino walks up to Primo glaring at him with that creepily cold grin on his face. "What's up Primo? Looks like I'm back in the family," He says tossing the sword back to Yamamoto. "Hope you don't mind," He leans his head back slightly condescending.

Primo simply smiles. "Why of course not. It's good to have you back. It's just as I predicted in fact," He says rubbing under his nose before getting smacked in the back of the head by Reborn.

"That's a lie if I ever heard one,"

"Now then… after the final round Geraldino… we'll have to put some restraints on you… you HAVE been a bit… uncooperative lately you know,"

Geraldino just grins with a slight chuckle. "No problem. I can handle whatever," He simply says and the group begins their return to the resort.

Kotsu is walking along a bit nervously with Reborn next to him. "So… you got a plan for the battle knowing the rules?" He suddenly asks.

"Um I… not really… I guess… I'll just have to do my best… hyper Kotsu is much better than I am at this sort of thing after all," Kotsu says scratching the back of his head. He quickly receives a smack in the back of the head followed by another. "W-why two!?"

"One was for not having a good plan… figure the other out yourself," He says and Kotsu sighs, wondering if he'll ever understand the reasoning of this strange man.

"I guess… the easiest thing to do is to… have everyone gather in one place and then I can swoop in and get all the rings in one go without having to fight anyone…" he says and Reborn slowly nods.

"That's right… here's a little insider knowledge for you. All of your guardians will be split up around the mall and they'll be with the other guardians of their type. Then they'll have 10 minutes to split up before you, Zaccaria and Ywan are allowed to move out…" He says before speeding up his pace to join Primo and his guardians.

"A-alright… I'll… keep that in mind…" He says looking up wondering what the other two candidates are going to think up for a strategy…

 **-NII-**

Back at Zaccaria's apartment he sits down on the couch letting out a little sigh. "Man it's pretty tough to be bad isn't it?" He says as Ricci jumps onto the couch next to him grinning.

"Well seems like loads of people got talent for it! YOU… are NOT one of them!" He says grabbing Zaccaria in a headlock.

"H-hey… stop that," He says chuckling lightly as the rest of the team go about their routine, NM-5 repairing himself after his fight at his station, Boris already working out again, Faust lazing about, Kagetora meditating.

Barley leans against the wall crossing his arms. "So… what's the plan for tomorrow Zaccaria?" He asks significantly less patronizing than he was the day before.

"It's simply… we're going to go for the win from the start…" Zaccaria says and everyone look a little confused.

"Go for the win?" Kagetora says popping an eye open to see if he's being serious.

"That's right… here's how it's going to go…" He says leaning forward Ricci letting him out of the friendly headlock so he can explain their plan.

 **-NII-**

At Ywan's apartment him and all his guardians are simply sitting around not doing anything really. "Ywan. Is there a strategy you prefer we follow tomorrow?" Galileo asks hanging up his skeleton on the wall.

"we can simply win the easy way, however I've grown tired of Primo and his games… using his position to choose a mere child. And that Zaccaria, while he may be said to be a born leader he is anything but in my opinion. Therefore we'll not just win, but we'll make them lose any will to fight," He says leaning forward on their coffee table.

Riccardo lifts an eyebrow. "That seems quite cruel to do to children Ywan,"

"I simply want to prove to Primo that you cannot think of this as a game," He looks out the window towards the resort where he knows Kotsu is located. "It is dangerous and letting them think they have what it takes is simply foolish…"


	51. Grand Finale: Beginning

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 51: Grand Finale: Beginning**

Kotsu wakes up on the new and final day of the school's camping trip and also on the final day of the ring conflict. Today is the day where he'll fight. His heart is in his throat from nervousness. He quickly gets up waking Primo up as he exits the room. "Oh.. morning Kotsu," He says smiling as Kotsu pokes his head back in the room.

"M-morning Primo-san! Sorry for waking you up…" He says before heading out of the room and down the hall to the main room, quickly identifying his older brother sitting and eating a sandwich with a group of girls and Reishiro just silently sitting beside Ren. Kotsu slowly tiptoes over sitting next to them.

"Ah! Lil' bro! I was just talking about you!" Ren says spitting sandwich bits in his little brother's face as he does and Ren swings an arm over his shoulder. "This is Kotsu!" he says and all the girls look a bit puzzled at the younger brother who's currently feeling very put on the spot.

"Is this really him? He doesn't look anything like you said!" One of the girls say and Kotsu frantically looks to his brother wondering what exactly he told the girls.

"Ren! What did you tell them about me!?"

"I just told them about our game and how amazing you are at it," He says with a knowing smile.

"But he doesn't look very… um… no offense… cool as you told us…"

Kotsu gets an annoyed look on his face, but to be honest he can definitely see where they come from. Up until less than a year ago, he was a normal boring kid. The change is a bit drastic. "Well um… none taken I guess…" he says when suddenly everyone sees Primo standing behind the boys.

He puts an almost parental hand on their shoulders. "Well I can assure you that both these boys are as cool as you've been told. Maybe even more so," He says and Kotsu gives a weak smile.

"Well… only sometimes…" He rubs the back of his head and Ren laughs a bit smacking him in the big in a brotherly manner.

"That's SO not true Lil' bro! You're cool all the time," he ensures, and Kotsu naturally doesn't believe him since… it isn't true… but he's glad to know that his brother has his back all the way. "Now then! Shall we do something today Lil' bro?" The elder brother says pulling Kotsu on his feet and the two walk outside for some fresh air and to see if they can find some people from their little group.

"I kinda just… want to relax… it's going to be rough tonight…"

Ren just smiles and laughs. "I'm sure well make it!" He says and Kotsu picks up the feint hint of nervousness and fright in his voice.

"Ren… are you scared?"

Ren pauses for a moment, really making Kotsu feel like he hit the nail right on the head. However Ren just gives a bright smile. "N-not at all Lil' bro! We have you with us after all! We'll win and I'll be beside you the WHOLE time! I-I'll see you become a great person just like Primo!" He says clearly diverting from the topic.

"I-It's okay Ren… I'm kinda scared too… but I can't let either of those two win…" He says and Ren just smiles again. The two see Geraldino sitting on a log looking very exhausted. "Um… is something wrong Geraldino!?"

"Yeah… definitely… but when I get back to Italy… it seems like I'll be going through some kind of hell… I won't get my cosmic rain ring… OR my cosmic box weapon… Not just that, but they'll give me a leg bracelet which suppresses my flames… I won't be allowed to fight… I have to have bodyguards with me at all times AND they won't give me my sword…" He says and Kotsu laughs a little. They really take treachery seriously in the Vongola family.

"But… j-just to be clear you won't be… trying to kill me right? I kinda… was in the moment yesterday,"

Geraldino gives him a suspicious look. "Didn't you listen back when you beat me?" He says annoyed but Kotsu exactly doesn't remember since he passed out from over exhaustion. "The reason I attacked you was because I wanted to prove my dad wrong by becoming your bodyguard but they chose Tsugemora instead… so I'm content with this instead. Don't worry about waking up with a sword in your chest…" He says falling backwards. "Now go away… I'm tired after listening to Primo for so long…"

Off to the side there's a little group gathered and Kotsu notes Marco in the middle, most likely holding Cotton in his hands and a few girls seem gathered around to say hi to the little girl. "L-Ladies… please… you're frightening my lady…" He says obviously being flustered himself.

Kotsu scoots over, leaving Ren to 'entertain' Reishiro who's just clueless about everything, so there's plenty to talk about, and checks up on them and Cotton is just enjoying the attention jumping around on Marco's arms. "Um… she seems like she's enjoying herself Marco…"

Marco jumps a little. "Ah! Sir Kotsu!" He says bowing politely and one of the girls looks curiously at him while Cotton is being nuzzled by some other ones.

"Hey… why is your hair such a strange color?" She asks and Marco gives almost a whimper and takes a little step back.

"I-I do not know the answer to such a question… I-I was b-born this way after all," He says trying to back away bumping into the group playing with Cotton. "M-my apologies! S-sir…!" he says realizing Kotsu is still there and he drags him aside. "Y-you had a lot to speak to me about correct!?" He says pushing him along with some girls pouting after him since he DOES look rather pretty and capable. After the two get around the corner Marco almost falls and looks around the corner. "M-my apologies sir…" he says slumping down lazily against the wall.

"Um… was something wrong there?" Kotsu asks and Marco looks back at the group where Cotton is getting all the attention she wants.

"Very much so… I… I'm terrified of girls you see?" He says shivering slightly to himself and Kotsu looks a bit confused.

"I… see…? But Cotton's a girl… right?" He says suddenly questioning the gender of his tiny storm guardian.

"S-she is… but she's very… non-feminine… much like your friend… Lady Fumie I believe her name was…" He says shaking his head.

"But… isn't the Rosa Rossa family full of girls… how did this happen?" Kotsu says really confused as to Marco's unnatural fear of girls.

"Well you see… when I was young, no matter where I went with my grandfather… we'd always meet loads of women wanting to tell me how cute I am and give me hugs… also when we were at the Rosa Rossa family's headquarters… all the ladies of the house…" He explains ending in a shiver.

"Sounds uh… rough…? Just how many ladies of the house are there?"

"WAY too many… about seven and all the daughter's who did not inherit the Rosa Rossa's gene…" He gets up and shakes off his fluster. "Either way Sir Kotsu. Both I and Cotton will do our best in the conflict this evening. You can count on me. I will surely help bring you victory," He says bowing before gulping, heading back to get Cotton, who jumps into his arms and he heads back to follow Kotsu, Ren and Reishiro rejoining them.

"What was… that all about?" Ren asks pointing around a little.

Marco clears his throat. "I… prefer not to answer that question…" He simply states and Cotton laughs.

"TIAHAHA! Marco is just jealous that Cotton-heika is getting more attention than he is!" She declares and Kotsu chuckles a little knowing it is in fact the complete opposite.

After heading around a bit more they see Fumie come running towards them with Rinoka in hand and Marco recoils a little seeing the very feminine Rinoka and her shy, cuteness. "Kotsu-kun! Ren-senpai!" She says stopping in front of them and she looks sparkly-eyed at Ren a bit. "I heard you're close to winning that thing in your game! Is that right?" Kotsu slowly nods looking to Rinoka who seems a little more open. "That's SO cool! And Rinoka just told me that you'll all be playing the game tonight! Even that little guy: Tsugemora," Almost as if by divine intervention Tsugemora appears as soon as his name is mentioned.

"Hey I'm NOT little!" He says and the two butt heads for a little before Fumie pulls her head back sending Tsugemora tumbling to the ground.

"Anyway you guys! I... wanna go shopping with you all! We're going to go buy some cool clothes for you to wear during the finals!" She says dragging the whole group along.

 **-NII-**

The group spends the day in Tokyo shopping for clothes, Fumie being slightly annoyed that they can't go to the mall, saying it's so annoying that the ONE time she goes to Tokyo the biggest mall is closed for renovations. But they all manage to find some and after eating together, Tsugemora and Fumie fighting most of the day, leaving Kotsu to talk with Reishiro and Rinoka, while Ren converses with Marco and Cotton seeing as Marco cannot hold his composure in front of Rinoka.

The group heads home to change. Kotsu's gotten some loose dark blue jeans, and a long-sleeved black hoodie with little frills on the shoulders for effect.

Ren's bought a new training outfit which is simple, yellow with a black stripe down the sides of the arms and legs. He's naturally wearing his improved shoes.

Rinoka has gotten a simple cute dress with black stockings, dark purple skirt with a white stripe along the bottom, and a black west. She's also gotten a new hairpin for her tuft. A purple snowflake this time. She's nervously clinging to her box weapon and ring.

Tsugemora's gotten what looks like a leather west worn by some kind of biker gang and some ripped jeans, which just looks… SO out of place next to his reasonably dressed teammates.

Cotton and Marco have gotten a matching set, with a ying yang, design, Cotton having a white onesie with a black dot in the middle and Marco having completely black clothing with a shirt that has a white dot. Where on earth they found stuff like that to match a 5-year-old and a 14-year-old, Kotsu will never know.

Reishiro's gotten some baggy clothing as that's what he prefers, but seeing as everyone dressed themselves it's put on messily, which honestly suits as it goes with his lazy, gaze well.

Geraldino gets up seeing them all, in his normal clothing which fits right in being quite eccentric to begin with, holding a borrowed sword over his shoulder, towering over them all.

"H-how do we look Primo?" Kotsu asks and Primo looks them all over before smiling kindly.

"It's not about your look Kotsu… it's about what's on the inside. That being the case I'll still say you all look ready," He says and the team make their way to the subway.

Rinoka looks really unsettled sitting on the station and Kotsu puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright Rinoka… you're allowed to be scared… y-you know that right? B-but remember… you have Chido to protect you and if everything just becomes too tough for him then we'll all be there for you!" Kotsu says trying to make her less tense which only sort of works.

"T-t-t-thank you K-Kotsu-san,"

 **-NII-**

They arrive at the mall seeing a Cervello outside waiting for them. "Welcome once more… You will all need to split up," The woman says and gives directions to all of the guardians to head to different parts of the mall. Tsugemora, being directed to electronics, Ren to sports, Reishiro to toys, Geraldino to the large grocery store, Rinoka to the parking lot, and Cotton and Marco to foods. Kotsu is sent to the middle where both Zaccaria and Ywan are waiting for him like always.

The younger of the two smirks seeing him. "My my… look who got some fancy clothes for the final match," He says laughing and Kotsu gulps.

"T-thanks… I think…"

"Will you two stop it? We are about to begin," Ywan says looking about at the directions where the guardians are all gathered in their respective positions.

 **-NII-**

At Tsugemora's end, he's with his dad and Faust and Gerald looks to Faust after there's a bit of awkward silence. "Faust… what's your mother's name?" He asks a little concerned and Faust gives him a lazy look.

"Why're you asking me that?" He says and Gerald looks to Tsugemora, who looks just like him.

"No reason…"

"Her name's Marilyn…"

Gerald let's out a bit of a relieved sigh. "Oh thank god…"

Tsugemora takes a few seconds to think about it. "WAIT! What do you mean by that!?"

Before Gerald can answer the Cervello come over the speakers. _"Welcome to the final match everyone. We will now begin! The boss candidates are in the middle, and are not allowed to move. However all you guardians now have 10 minutes to move about, and begin your plans. After the 10 minutes are up, you are allowed to fight, but a moment before. Any breaking of the rules will result in the disqualification of your boss. We wish everyone good luck,"_ She says and there's a loud beep indicating the beginning of the sky match. Instantly Faust walks off, clearly directed towards somewhere particular.

"Where're you going!?" Tsugemora asks and Faust folds his hands behind his head.

"You're my enemy. I'm not telling," He just says and Gerald looks to Tsugemora.

"Son… I've been tasked with defeating you and taking your ring once the fighting begins, much like all my fellow guardians…" He says and Tsugemora takes out his wire gun.

"That's alright father! I will defeat you then!" He says grinning confidently.

"So I'm going to say you shook me off," He says before walking off as well and Tsugemora is a little confused.

 **-NII-**

At Reishiro, Pietro and Barley's side, Reishiro just heads into one of the toy stores, amazed as to all the new toys he's never seen before. "What's this one…?" He says picking one up and Pietro looks oddly at him.

"I believe that is a foam-bullet gun…" He says and Reishiro seems to realize as well pointing it around a bit.

"Ah! Sokaaa…"

Barley meanwhile has gone off somewhere, neither of them know. Pietro looks to the young boy childish asking him what all these toys are. 'This child… It saddens me to think it… but I am not able to defeat him. His hell ring is too powerful for me to defeat…' He thinks to himself as his opponent disappears, absorbing light with his ring, but the toys he's holding still floating in the air so Pietro can still see where he is.

 **-NII-**

Antonio, Cotton, Marco and Ricci are all standing around a little before Ricci laughs abruptly. "I can't believe you LOST to that kid Antonio!" He yells referring to Reishiro defeating him.

"That will NOT be happening in this match I assure you!" He says and Ricci just walks off like Barley and Faust did.

"Yeah yeah… but Ywan definitely won't win this fight… that's for sure,"

After he leaves Cotton glares at Antonio while Marco looks quite confused at him. "Aren't you going somewhere as well sir?"

"I have my orders…" He says and Marco quickly realizes that he's not moving because they're not moving.

"Then… I think we better get out of here!" Marco yells before activating his dying will mode and shooting off away from Antonio who sets off after them, being significantly slower, thanks to Marco's removed physical limiters.

"Hey!" Antonio yells gritting his teeth. "How on earth did he realize so fast I was going to attack as soon as the time was up! Dammit," He slams his box weapon open and the phoenix shoots out, now much larger in size and he jumps onto it flying after them at much faster rate.

 **-NII-**

As soon as the time starts Kagetora leaps away disappearing in seconds being a 'true ninja' as he'd put it, leaving Geraldino and Albert alone in the supermarket. Geraldino smirks grabbing a jug of milk from the cooling container. "So… got any last minute shopping to do for your kid? That Ricci guy right?" he says slicing it open with his sword instead of just opening and he takes a few long gulps.

"How vulgar. And do not speak of my child like you know our relationship! It is complicated understand?" He says gritting his teeth and Geraldino just laughs.

"It's not THAT complicated. He clearly hates you! Why DOES he hate you anyway?"

"That is none of your business… aren't you going somewhere to find an opponent to battle?" He then asks and Geraldino steps a bit closer well aware that the Cervello are watching from somewhere, he gets all up in Albert's face staring him down.

"Well I've GOT an opponent right here haven't I?" He says grinning evilly and Albert can't help but feel a little like HE'S the one being hunted, but he's upgraded his gauntlet so he should be fine. "I hope back-up's on the way for you because in five minutes… you're going to be in pieces…"

 **-NII-**

Ren looks to his two fellow sun guardians, both towering beasts with quite large muscles, and tough appearances, though Boris seems to prefer the outdoors unlike Riccardo, given the prior's tan.

"So Boris… what kind of silly plan has Zaccaria come up with for this match?" Riccardo asks and Boris grins.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Now if you'll excuse me… I'll go put it into action," he just says waving dismissingly and heading away, leaving Ren with Riccardo.

"You look nervous boy. That is no state for a sun guardian," He says crossing his arms and Ren laughs nervously.

"Well I just… don't really want to fight… that's all,"

"Even worse… because I will follow you, until the timer is up so your first opponent will be me," he says spoiling Ywan's plan and Ren suddenly bolts away, at full speed letting his shoes speed him up like they did when he got them and Riccardo quickly speeds after him, but in spite of his superior size and experience he can't quite catch up to Ren. "This boy… he's remarkable… if only he had the fighting spirit…"

 **-NII-**

NM-5 looks between the two of his fellow cloud guardian. Galileo looks quite saddened. Mainly knowing that once time is up he's going to have to attack Rinoka, as part of Ywan's strategy and not just that, but win with such certainty that she'll get scared of even fighting again, but from the looks of it she's already there.

NM-5 looks around activating his thermal scanner. _"Rinoka. I sense an immense amount of flame coming this way. It is with 98.3% certainty, your fellow guardian Ren Niruo. Go to him for protection,"_ He advises before going into the building, Rinoka unsure whether to follow his directions or not.

"O-Okay!" She finally decides being a trusting person and runs towards where NM-5 specified with Galileo just staying behind, not wanting to do it, even if Ywan told him to.

"I'm sorry Ywan… I refuse to hurt someone who cannot defend themselves again…"

 **-NII-**

Meanwhile in the middle the three boss candidates are standing Kotsu looking at the two pills he got from Reborn, which allow him to enter hyper dying will mode. It's now been nine minutes and Ywan grits his teeth. "Something's not right…" He says and Kotsu looks confused as to what he means, however the young boss quickly realizes what's happening.

He looks in the six directions where all the guardians were directed to seeing each and every of Zaccaria's guardians coming one by one all looking quite ready to fight. "W-what is this…?" Kotsu asks and Zaccaria slowly chuckles.

"I kinda figured Ywan would pull something to try and scare your guardians… so while they waste time doing that…" he gets up smirking and steps forward to the line drawn that they're not allowed to cross and turns to face his two opponents. "I'm going to be winning this instantly!" He says smirking and Ywan looks to the clock seeing there're only a few seconds left. Too late to call for his guardians…

"Boy…" He says referring to Kotsu who looks up at him. "As much as I dislike it… I will have to work together with you to stop Zaccaria from winning. Deal? Truce until we ensure that he cannot win this way? Think quickly. We've few seconds left," He says and Kotsu looks at the clock too and in the final few seconds he gulps down the two pills and the cloud flame erupts on his forehead. Ywan looks at him seeing his now serious look and calm composure. "So…?"

The clock rings signaling for the beginning and Ricci springs forward for Zaccaria to hand over his storm ring, Ywan holding out his knife to blow him away when Kotsu suddenly shoots forward using his fork as a booster kicking Ricci back. "If you are suggesting it, then it must be truly necessary to win. I'm in… but know this Ywan…" He lands being between Zaccaria and a few of his guardians, Faust, Ricci and Kagetora to be precise. "I will not be the one who's holding you back…" he says pointing his fork at Ywan causing the elder man to smirk.

"Oh but you will be holding me back boy…"


	52. Grand Finale: Threshold

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 52: Grand Finale: Threshold**

Ywan and Kotsu find themselves in what can loosely be described as a pickle, as Zaccaria's guardians all appear in the middle, with no sign of any of Kotsu's or Ywan's guardians to be seen. As such the two have made a temporary pact to deal with this situation. Ywan facing down, Barley, NM-5 and Boris, while Kotsu is holding off Faust, Ricci and Kagetora with Zaccaria in the middle. The cosmic sky flame stands in the middle just looking content as they all begin their fighting.

Ricci leaps into the air attempting to get past Kotsu from above, thinking his opponent will leap after him creating an opening for the other two, however, while barely paying him any mind Kotsu points his fork upwards shooting a flurry of cloud flames his way and Ricci's shot straight into the glass ceiling of the mall, bursting through it and Kotsu notes that the other two had thought the same presumably as they've charged straight for him. Kagetora gets his knife out, while Faust hardens his skin and the two start attacking Kotsu with a flurry of attacks trying to push him back, when suddenly Kotsu feels something from behind him and he jumps slightly, using Ricci and Faust's block as stepping stones, barely dodging Zaccaria's twin katars. "Don't think I'll stand idly by and let you beat up my guardians!" He declares happily and Kotsu is now left fighting three opponents all on his own once more as Ricci seems to have disappeared after the very first attack.

Meanwhile on Ywan's side he holds out his knife taking one hand behind his back taking a very regal pose. "Which of you three shall I dispatch of first?"

Boris grins and right as they're all about to attack he slams his fists together. "You two stand back! Boris' got this!" He yells before speeding forward winding back his fist for a strike. NM-5 and Barley both stand back the human of the two letting out a sigh.

"I kind of expected he wouldn't be one to share the spotlight,"

Ywan stands perfectly still until Boris is just about to hit him and he jumps back, perfectly straight, letting Boris hit the ground. He does a spin once in the air, to swing his knife with extra force sending a blade of sky flames at Boris in the shape of a saber. Boris puts up a block, destroying it easily. "That all you got uncle!?" he yells before stepping on the bomb he laid when he punched the ground propelling him towards the elder man, who holds his knife close as if preparing for a fencing match and he stabs it at Boris hitting him dead on with another powerful blade of sky flames this time in the shape of a rapier and once more Boris simply punches it to bits.

"Oh please Boris. I've been much more of a father to you than those worthless biological brothers of mine!" He yells smirking as Boris comes in close and once more strikes, Ywan blocking with his coated knife and the two stalemate for a little.

"That's true. But calling you pops makes this a little harder on my emotions!" Boris says quite genuine. "But right here and now I need to give it my all for master Zaccaria!" He raises his other fist. "YADERNOYE ORUZHIYE!" He yells as it starts glowing and he hurls it towards Ywan, who quickly sees it and boosts away using his knife in the same manner Kotsu uses his fork. Boris' attack misses, hitting the ground creating a rather large crater.

"I'm glad you do not hold back for my sake Boris. Because that will end badly for you…" He says with a smirk.

Kotsu jumps back, blocking behind his back with his fork and his remaining fist in front as Zaccaria's katar connects from behind and Faust's fist from in front, kicking at Faust back in order to boost himself upwards slightly to counter Kagetora's incoming knife slash, simply using his fist once more to grab Kagetora's arm preventing the strike and tossing him into Faust who doesn't prepare and the two tumble a little, with Kotsu now able to briefly concentrate on stopping Zaccaria. He spins on his heel and Zaccaria pulls back his katars smirking almost happily. "You've gotten stronger since we fought last…"

"I've been practicing," Is the simple answer he gets before the two clash again. However it's quite clear that Zaccaria's two katars are far superior to Kotsu's fork, as Kotsu keeps getting small cuts and bruises.

"Practice makes perfect! But you're FAR less than perfect unlike me!" He yells doing an insanely fast front flip coming down with a double handed cut and Kotsu blocks it by catching it in between his fork spikes.

"I may not be… but I will win either way Zaccaria," the statement causes Zaccaria to smirk.

"I'm not so sure about that. REVERT! 40%!" He yells and his two katars transform back into one, this time growing a little longer, becoming a sword and he quickly gets hold of the handle slicing Kotsu's fork straight in half as he did in their previous match, and Kotsu's eyes go wide as Zaccaria kicks him back into Faust and Kagetora, who've recovered and the three of them start beating on him, as he now can't use his fork like he did before. He gets kicked around like a ragdoll.

Meanwhile Ywan and Boris are still going at it. Ywan clearly has the upper hand with his refined swordsmanship or knifesmanship in his case, where Boris is much more sporadic and unpredictable with his explosions and rough rugged fighting style. Ywan coats his blade in sky flames once again, throwing it at Boris blocking with an explosive punch, however Ywan deflects the punch the instant Boris attempts to counter landing a solid kick in his opponent's stomach he shoots him back with a flurry of quick bullet-like knife-projectiles made from sky flames and Boris smirks as he comes to a stop. "Not bad uncle. Not bad at all," However without a second thought Ywan turns around and begins walking away. "Oi! Where're you going!? We're not done here uncle!"

"Yes we are," he says looking to Kotsu who's still getting beaten on by Zaccaria. "And our partnership is over," He says before shooting off with his knife as a rocket booster.

"What do you mean!? If you leave master Zaccaria will win in an instant!"

Ywan just smirks and holds up Boris' sun ring. Each of them got new ones with different colors of handles to signify the team they belong to. "He cannot win without this, so my victory is assured." He simply says before shooting away to go elsewhere.

Boris grits his teeth. "Dammit… this was NOT what was supposed to happen… Master Zaccaria! Change of plans!" He simply yells before bolting after Ywan followed by Barley and NM-5 the three splitting up to find opponents.

 **-NII-**

While the match begun Ren and Rinoka had met up, running from both Riccardo and Antonio. They've entered the electronics department and are hiding in a store. "This is crazy… all these guys are incredibly strong… and I'm just…" Ren says not able to stop shaking. Having Riccardo's hostile intent on him was simply too much for him.

"R-Ren-senpai…? A-are you okay?" His companion takes the time to ask and Ren nods a bit.

"Yeah… yeah I'm good," he says looking to Rinoka who's looking just as scared as he is. He takes a deep breath realizing that he's the one who needs to protect her, so he can't waste much time showing fear. "Don't worry! I'll be right here to protect you!" He assures when suddenly the door to the store is blasted in and Riccardo enters.

"Don't make a promise you cannot keep child," the brutish man says taking a fighting stance. "I'm not much for it, but I will have to beat you up. Boss' orders," He adds before charging at the two of them. Ren manages to push Rinoka aside right as Riccardo punches at them and he kicks directly at Riccardo's fist making the older man grit his teeth. "That's some impressive strength… but you will have to do a lot better than that if you wish to defeat me!" He gives another rough strike with his free fist and Ren jumps back using Riccardo's fist as a setoff.

"I… I don't want to fight you!"

"Sadly that is too bad! On the battlefield mercy is but an illusion!" He's about to attack against when he suddenly gets hit by someone, so hard he flies across the store, knocking down almost every shelf there. Ren frantically looks to see if there's another enemy, however it's Marco in his dying will state. He exits the ability, still holding Cotton in his arms.

"Marco!" Ren says reassured, however Marco quickly gestures for them to follow.

"Quickly! This way master Ren! Miss Rinoka! We've little time to waste! He's right on our trail!" He declares and as they begin running Rinoka looks behind her seeing Antonio on his giant phoenix.

"You're not getting away!" He yells as Riccardo comes out of the store quickly following the two of them.

"I'll second that!" Riccardo yells jumping onto Antonio's giant phoenix, which only seems to speed up from the added weight.

After a quick chase they get outside, to the parking lot again and Marco stops running realizing they've trapped themselves. "Master Ren, Miss Rinoka. I believe this is where we must take a stand…" Ren and Marco both get up in front with Cotton being handed to Rinoka. "I am aware of your pacifist nature master Ren. Simply follow my lead," He says taking a fighting stance as Riccardo jumps from the phoenix, while Antonio flies higher into the air on the giant flaming bird. Marco let's out a roar as his storm flame bursts forth on his forehead, however his clothes remain, likely being made of a material resistant to his flame burst. He begins charging forward and as Riccardo comes flying down with a punch, Marco counters it perfectly, however he still gets overpowered by the brutish man. Ren stands frozen until he looks up seeing Antonio come flying down. He's halfway into a roll when he realizes that both Rinoka and Cotton are right behind him, needing his protection. Rinoka holds out her box weapon the tiny bird flying out and instantly grows its wing trying to blow Antonio and the phoenix away, however it doesn't work in the slightest.

"You think something this pathetic will stop me! I am not as soft as Galileo was with Tsugemora!" He yells however right before they hit Chido, Antonio suddenly feels the bird getting held back, quickly glancing behind him seeing Ren standing and pulling on the tail with all his might getting an incredible amount of burns on his hands.

"D-don't… a-attack her! I promised my little brother I'd protect them!" He yells before managing to overpower the bird tossing them both back a bit.

"R-Ren-senpai…? A-are you okay?" Rinoka asks as Chido flies up around him noting that his burns are slowly but surely healing themselves.

"Y-yes… b-but this is bad… I… I can't fight… I refuse to hurt someone on purpose…" He says standing his ground. Marco gets pushed back from his short scuffle with Riccardo exiting his dying will state.

"Well said Master Ren. However I must humbly disagree. I do not consent to mindless violence, however this is anything but mindless. According to master Primo the Vongola family will be corrupted if either Zaccaria or Ywan is chosen as the next boss. It will mean a lot of people will get hurt as a result. We're not fighting for ourselves entirely. We're fighting for the sake of those strangers. And that is quite a noble goal wouldn't you agree?" he says before charging forward entering dying will mode again. Ren grits his teeth tears slowly forming in his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry lil' bro… I'm never there when it counts… I swear! I WILL fight! Just… believe in me!" He yells off the top of his lungs.

 **-NII-**

Inside the main square Kotsu gets kicked back by Faust once more, sending him flying towards a wall, however he smirks feeling his brother's resolve from all the way in there. "I do Ren. I do," He suddenly gains balance in mid-air landing against the wall, instantly shooting forward with the speed he normally uses with his booster and lands a solid hit sending both Kagetora and Faust back while Zaccaria looks at the young boy.

"W-what happened!? You should be down for the count with your weapon destroyed!"

"Not quite… I simply needed a little time to make them better to use…" he says pointing one of the fork-ends at Zaccaria resting the other over his shoulder. The boss candidate quickly notes that they don't look broken anymore. In fact they're simply two smaller versions of his normal fork with only two spikes on each. "Now then… I think we've all gotten to know each other… so what do you say we finish this Zaccaria?" He says the tips of his fork lighting up with cloud flame.


	53. Grand Finale: Challenges

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 53: Grand Finale: Challenges**

Kotsu has just revealed that after Zaccaria cut his fork in two he's managed to make them into two smaller forks. "Now then… I think we've all gotten to know each other… so what do you say we finish this Zaccaria?" He says the tips of his fork lighting up with cloud flame. He swings it around a little standing with one fork-half on each side. Faust and Kagetora both come running towards Zaccaria in order to hand over their rings, however the moment they get anywhere near and Zaccaria turns his gaze Kotsu blasts off with both forks, before winding one of them up for a strike. Zaccaria tries blocking with his sword, however right as the two connect, Kotsu spins in the air striking with the second fork making Zaccaria slightly lose balance and in that moment Kotsu moves the first fork behind him firing it, pushing him towards Zaccaria who fully loses balance landing on the floor with Kotsu with a foot on top of him. Faust and Kagetora both attempt to attack him, however Kotsu jumps avoiding their attacks, kicking down at both of them, and as they block he crosses his forks blasting them both with a beam of cloud flame pushing them away from Zaccaria who's gotten up in the short moment. Zaccaria leaps into the air after him, swinging his sword at Kotsu, who dodges with a quick blast of his forks, using one for speed and the other for steering, having much more midair control than he usually has.

Zaccaria lands on the ground again, Kotsu blasting in with maximum speed, however right as Zaccaria swings at him again, he dodges under his swing and flies straight past him towards Kagetora, slamming him in the stomach with one fork, knocking him back and into the wall, flying towards him and again kicking him straight through the wall and it's safe to say he's out of the fight. Kotsu instantly changes direction back towards Faust and Zaccaria before the former can hand over his thunder ring. "Give it up Zaccaria. Fighting without trying to beat me won't get you anywhere and you know it,"

 **-NII-**

Tsugemora runs through the mall frantically. "Dammit… why'd I have to run into HIM!?" He tries spinning around pointing his wiregun at the person flying after him.

 _"Eliminate,"_ NM-5 declares firing a few small blasts of cloud flames at Tsugemora. Instead of dodging out of the way, Tsugemora simply makes sure it doesn't hit any vitals firing the gun and NM-5 spins out of the way landing right in front of the young boy. He palms Tsugemora right in the stomach pushing him back, however as Tsugemora lands he retracts the wire pulling on it and NM-5 realizes that he's been bound in the wire around his feet. He blasts himself off the ground, using the rockets in his feet. Tsugemora tries holding him down, but even with all his physical training he's no match for NM-5's powerful thrusters. However right as Tsugemora is pulled off the ground, he activates the electric flow sending it directly into NM-5, shocking his circuits, making his thrusters go out for a brief moment and before he can reactivate them Tsugemora pulls him in and kicks him in the head, however it does more harm to Tsugemora than good. _"My skin is a titanium-iron alloy. A measly punch from a child will not dent me,"_ The robot declares before shooting into the air again grinding Tsugemora against the ceiling, but Tsugemora gives a little smirk. Wrapping NM-5's neck in his wire.

"In that case! You must conduct electricity really well!" he pushes them off the ceiling and grabbing NM-5's hair, which he isn't really sure why he has shoving the hook of his wire gun down his throat before activating it sending shocks all the way through the robots body and the two crash into the ground. Tsugemora quickly manages to get a hold of NM-5's ring, but when he pulls on his wire to run off, while NM-5 is still down he feels that he can't. NM-5 stands up with gritted teeth, Tsugemora's wire stuck in his teeth.

 _"I will not allow you to get away… Tsugemora Gagliardi…"_ He says and his eyes briefly blink red, making Tsugemora slightly afraid.

 **-NII-**

Reishiro is standing in the toy shop still, looking at all the cool toys. "Hey mister… what's this one…?" He asks Pietro before turning around, his Vendetta being activated and doesn't realize that the whole front of the store has been blasted off. "Ah! That's right… he left…" he says to himself walking around Pietro's unconscious body, not realizing it's him. He looks at Pietro's mist ring he's acquired. "Why do I have two now…? What was I supposed to do again…?" He says to himself suddenly feeling something warm near his neck.

"You're Tsugemora's friend… I don't want to harm you… so hand over the ring… it is meant for Ywan, not you," Gerald says holding his energy sword close to Reishiro's neck.

"Tsugemora…? Ah! Ren's little friend…" He says holding out the ring. "Here…" he just says and right as Gerald is about to take it someone else steps into the store

"Do not fall for his tricks Gerald! He is an illusionist. And he is the son of Rokudo Mukuro," Ywan says swinging his knife about and Gerald jumps back, and Reishiro takes a little step forward.

"Ah!? You didn't want it…" he says putting the ring in his pocket. He holds out the toy in his hand. "You think I can buy this…?" he says and the two elder men both prepare a battle stance.

"On my signal Gerald…" Ywan says Reishiro not understanding a single thing.

"Yessir…" Gerald says still not really comfortable attacking someone who's so young and clearly unfit for the battlefield, but looking at Pietro who was completely destroyed by the looks of it Reishiro shouldn't be underestimated.

"Now!" Ywan declares and Gerald sets forth towards the young boy, setting aside his morals as he knows they have the greatest medics in the Vongola family ready in case Reishiro is about to die. Ywan also doesn't hesitate and swings his knife creating tons of knives of sky flames that all blast around Gerald, towards the young boy while he himself swings his energy sword straight at Reishiro's head. He finishes the slash and confidently lets out a sigh of relief.

"Ah! You want it anyway…?" Reishiro simply says holding Pietro's mist ring towards him.

"W-what!?" They both say and Ywan grits his teeth.

"As I thought… He absorbs our flames before they hit him. My sky flame knives as well as your thunder flame sword…" He says and Gerald looks a little afraid at the young boy.

Reishiro's horned eye glows a little. "Excuse me mister… but do you want the ring or not…?" he says looking incredibly creepy given his calm nonchalant voice and glowing eye added to his already scary appearance.

 **-NII-**

Ren and Marco are standing outside in the parking lot, with Rinoka and Cotton hiding behind one of the cars set up by the Cervello. Antonio jumps off his Phoenix and it charges at the two young boys. Ren gets in front of Marco and gulps, gathering all his will not to bolt out of the way, grabbing hold of the phoenix's beak, getting some nasty burns, but he's now realized he heals his injuries automatically. Slowly. But automatically. "This thing… i-it's so strong!" He tries as he sees Riccardo come jumping over it, going in for a straight punch now that Ren is undefended due to using his arms.

"Riccardo! Above you!" Antonio yells and Riccardo looks up seeing Marco in his dying will state right behind him. The young boy rams his fist into the sun user sending him straight into the ground, hitting the bird on the way down. Ren lets go and the two of them run forward towards Antonio. Antonio grits his teeth. "RETURN!" He yells and the phoenix is instantly in the air again, charging at them from behind and Marco stops as Ren continues towards Ywan's storm guardian. "I've seen the way you act boy. You cannot fool me. You don't have it in you to hurt me," He says as Ren spins for a kick but Antonio doesn't move an inch and Ren forces his leg to a complete stop right before he hits Antonio in the side of the head. The man smirks pushing Ren's leg away kicking him back himself.

"T-that may be true… but in that case I'll just stop you from reentering the fight!" Ren tries but Antonio just laughs.

"I do not need to do battle boy. My box weapon is my weapon. And it is fighting your friend just fine all by itself," He says laughing and Ren quickly glances behind himself seeing Marco pinned blocking a strike from Riccardo and the phoenix at the same time, having quite a bit of trouble doing so.

"T-that's…" He tries before gritting his teeth. "I… I…"

Meanwhile behind the car Rinoka is sitting and holding onto Cotton. "Rinoka! Let Cotton-heika go! She will take care of the bullies who're attacking Marco! He is my most precious minion!"

"N-n-n-no Cotton… y-you can't… i-it's best to leave this to the boys," Rinoka tries as Cotton fights to get free.

"But Cotton-heika must help them! They'll lose!" She tries and Rinoka looks out from behind the car.

"I-I know… B-but we can't get away… a-and Marco-san is stronger than both of us…"

"He is not! I AM the strongest!"

Suddenly Marco comes flying past the car crashing into another. He doesn't look hurt due to his dying will mode protecting him. Suddenly the car is kicked to the side by Riccardo. "Hand over your rings and I won't hurt you," He simply says. The giant phoenix is looming over his shoulder as Ren has still been unable to move due to fear and his own morals.

"No you big bully! Cotton-heika will destroy you! HIAAAAA!" She yells jumping at the large man! "COTTON-HEIKA SUPER SPECIAL ATTACK: MEGATON KICK!" She yells but Riccardo simply grabs her out of the air tossing her aside. Rinoka holds her hand out towards her.

"Cotton!" She tries before looking up at Riccardo. Ren stands frozen looking at the ground. 'This isn't right…' Marco runs to check up on Cotton. "I… I can't…g-give it to you…" She says taking out her own box weapon. 'I-I should be there for them…' "I-I promised K-Kotsu-san! T-that I'd try to be useful!" She says and right as she's about to insert her ring she fumbles and drops it just like she did against Ricci. 'Just like Kotsu!'

Riccardo raises his fist. "I won't ask again. Give it now!" When Rinoka holds her fist close to her Riccardo grits his teeth. 'I-I always said he should be helpful!' Ren continues before suddenly turning stomping his foot down, his shoes glowing yellow. 'I WON'T stand by watching people I care about get hurt!' the next thing Riccardo knows something comes flying at him at incredible speed. "TAIYOFU!" Riccardo is flung across the entire parking lot slamming against a car, coming to a halt.

Ren leans down in front of Rinoka smiling his signature smile. "Are you okay… Rinoka?" He asks and helps her up with a smile.

"Y-y-y-yes… w-what about you…?" Ren turns around seeing Antonio with his phoenix again.

"I'm fine… I think this has made me realize something… Being hardcore and cold… isn't really my style…" He says smiling happy as always. "I'm more… the kind of guy who smiles and helps those in need… and right now… I'm helping my little brother win this battle," He says and everyone looks a little surprised as he begins stepping back and forth like he did against Faust.

"Heh… you think just a different mentality will help you overcome your own hate for battle!? You're a fool!" Antonio yells ordering his phoenix to fly forward. It shoots some of its feathers at the two of them and Ren just stands completely still as Marco comes in from the side deflecting them all with his bare hands. Ren jumps forward, spinning as he knocks the phoenix in the head sending it flying to the side.

Ren shakes a little as he sets his foot down. "It's still… uncomfortable to hit something with the intent of hurting it… but it's even more uncomfortable knowing I could prevent it from hurting someone else…" He leans his head back a little casually pointing to Antonio. "So that's my answer… from this point forward… I won't be the one holding back my team…"


	54. Grand finale: Revelation

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 54: Grand Finale: Revelation**

Outside the arena Primo, Reborn, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Hibari, and Murphy are standing and watching the match on some screens set up. "So… will they manage do you think?" Murphy asks and Gokudera grits his teeth.

"the tenth would never make a wrong decision!"

Primo chuckles a little. "I've made… plenty of those Gokudera-kun. But yes… I think they'll manage to pull out the win. With Tsugemora and his neverending determination and Ren's newfound resolve I'd say they're sitting pretty well on everything at the moment…" He says looking about at the different screens.

 **-NII-**

Tsugemora is flung back by NM-5's powerful fist and he slides a little before coming to a stop, pulling on his wire gun which he's wrapped around NM-5's leg. It makes the robot lose balance for just a second, before he uses the rocket on his feet to blast down the hallway. Tsugemora is dragged along, gritting his teeth as he tries standing his ground. He sends electricity down the wire. _"The same tactic will not work on me twice,"_ NM-5 states as his knee joint suddenly pops off making Tsugemora's wire shoot electricity into nothing.

"Dammit…" he simply says retracting his wire before suddenly seeing NM-5 blasting at him again. "W-wha…?" He tries, but NM-5 lands a solid hit with his remaining leg. However Tsugemora wraps his arms around NM-5's leg to prevent him from pulling back.

 _"Being reckless will not help you,"_ He says shooting his rocket booster straight at Tsugemora, however he stands tall.

"We'll see! I WILL defeat you! I can feel it… Nii-san… he needs me to be somewhere! AND IT'S. NOT. HERE!" He yells getting through the attack from NM-5 swinging him over his shoulder and into the ground.

 _"Where is it you must be so badly?"_ NM-5 decides to ask as pushes off the ground, kicking at point blank range into Tsugemora once more.

Tsugemora grits his teeth. He remembers hearing Ren's resolute scream earlier and has a feeling that he will need help, though that's just Tsugemora's lack of confidence in him. "As if I'd tell someone like you!" He yells, still holding into NM-5's leg.

 _"I could force him to let go, by splitting from this leg as well. I would be down two limbs, however my other leg is only two meters away. I can pick that up using my second layer booster,"_ NM-5 says once more too fast for a human to hear. NM-5 does just that, shooting himself off towards his free leg grabbing hold of it and in a quick roll manages to get it reattached back onto himself. _"Tsugemora Gagliardi. You stand no chance of winning as it is currently,"_ However Tsugemora smirks and holds out his wire gun.

"I beg to differ NM-5," He says and NM-5 quickly analyzes that the wire has been fired, however he didn't hear it fire. And his hearing is 10 times that of a normal human's. He looks to where it reaches seeing it entering his reattached leg.

 _"W-what!? How did he manage to get it like that…?"_ He says slowly and Tsugemora smirks, before activating the electricity.

"If you can't get hurt while it's on your skin then I'll electrocute you from the inside out!" he yells and NM-5 suddenly feels his circuits going haywire, all his displays malfunctioning, and he falls to the ground.

 _"Error… main functions… overloaded. Emergency shutdown… initiated,"_ He says slowly falling to the ground his displayed eyes turning into the blue screen of death. Tsugemora pants as he quickly manages to get close and collect NM-5's cloud ring and also pull out his wire from NM-5's leg.

"I… I won… I got him…" He says laughing to himself. "Of course I got him! I'm Nii-san's bodyguard after all!" He yells to himself mostly, but out of the corner of his eye he suddenly sees a figure turn the corner and all the happiness from the victory disappears from his eyes as he suddenly gets very afraid. It's a person he cannot beat. No matter what he might be able to do. Boris the Demolisher.

The large brute smirks seeing Tsugemora's, in comparison, weak frame. "So… this is where that kid's guardians were hiding away!" He says cracking his knuckles. However after taking in the robot at Tsugemora's feet he gives a light grunt. He walks over, suddenly paying Tsugemora no mind at all. He squats down next to his fallen friend. "After all that trouble Reborn-san went through to get you authorized for battle… and not only do you lose your round, but you're also the first of us to bite the dust in here… unless… nevermind that jerk," he says and Tsugemora stops for a moment.

"R-Reborn…-san…?" he says slowly before Boris stands up straight, seemingly being reminded of Tsugemora's presence by his voice.

"Oh yeah… I guess I gotta take care of you then," He says looking down on Tsugemora like he's some sort of insect that needs squashing.

 **-NII-**

Gerald attempts to give Reishiro another swing with his laser sword, but as he suspected it simply gets absorbed into his eye. Ywan grunts in annoyance. "Such a bothersome ability," He says before simply running forward towards the young boy, who still doesn't seem to understand what's going on. Gerald instantly understands what Ywan is going to do. He stabs at Reishiro with his knife. "But it can easily be countered!" He yells trying to get close. However as soon as he's close Reishiro gets a sharp pain in his eye again.

"Argh! A-again… Ren… what's happening…?" He says and Ywan doesn't hesitate in his attack, but right before it connects Reishiro's eye glows. "VENDICARE!" He declares and fires the energy he just absorbed at Ywan who's forced back from the impact.

"Damn this child!" He says but smirks. "Luckily this means he is out of energy," He says and Gerald gets in behind him attempting to hit him from the back while Ywan runs in from the front, however suddenly Reishiro disappears into thin air and their attacks miss, somehow.

"W-what!? But Vendetta doesn't make him intangible!" Gerald says and Ywan spins his knife around a little.

"Gerald… Activate your sword. If he is around his eye will absorb our flames…" He says spinning and blasting the area with sky flames. Some of the flames stop midair and disappear. Gerald runs over kicking at the air, connecting with something and Reishiro reappears and tumbles across the toystore.

"M-mister… please stop the pain…" He says gritting his teeth slightly. He holds his hand over his eye again.

"I-I'm sorry child…" Gerald says however Ywan does not show the same kind of mercy simply attacking again.

"No… not again mister… no more… NO MORE!" Reishiro yells and the horn glows shooting what little light he had stored from moments earlier. Ywan is blinded and takes a few steps back. Suddenly the two men hear a large explosion coming from somewhere else in the hall.

"That explosion… that can only have been Boris… I will leave this to you Gerald. Do NOT fail me," he says before leaving Gerald with Reishiro.

"I truly am sorry for this child…" he says holding out the hilt of his energy sword, without activating it, knowing Reishiro will just absorb it. He runs forward once more and Reishiro takes a little step back in fear.

 **-NII-**

Ywan makes his way towards, where the explosion happened knowing that if it's Boris he must be stopped. However as he runs past a hall leading to the middle he suddenly stops as Faust comes flying past him followed by a beam of cloud flames and as he looks towards the central square he sees Kotsu holding out one fork to fire the beam and the other blocking one of Zaccaria's sword-strikes. "There you are Ywan," He says, guiding Zaccaria's strike elsewhere before shooting off towards Ywan.

"Oi! Kotsukiba! We're not done!" he yells setting off after Kotsu. Ywan holds up his knife to block Kotsu, who spins to hit him with a double kick, using the immense speed from his boosters to make it hit even harder. He pushes Ywan back, holding his forks crossed over his head as Zaccaria strikes at him and he leaps off Ywan, over Zaccaria who instead changes target to Ywan and the two trade a few blows before all three of them split.

"You two!? I have no time for this!" Ywan yells his knife erupting with sky flames and he holds it up, causing a giant blade of sky flames to appear and he swings it down at them. "CARNEFICE!" (Italian: executioner) Zaccaria holds up his sword, blocking the strike while Kotsu jumps over it, and gets in close to Ywan stabbing at him with his fork and Ywan attempts to dodge, however Kotsu uses his cloud flame to extend the tips of one of his forks and scratches at Ywan's cheek, and while the elder man wonders what happened Kotsu spins hitting him in the side with his other fork, while blocking an attack from Zaccaria with the first.

As Ywan is pushed away he grits his teeth. "I WAS planning of doing battle with whoever ended up winning your scuffle, but it appears I will just have to take out the both of you AT ONCE!" he yells and both the younger boys are a bit surprised as they get blasted back by Ywan's explosive power. They both enter the main square again as Ywan comes blasting from the hall, holding out his knife a ton of swords of sky flame forming behind him. The two of them both put up their block as the flame swords, shoot for them as Ywan lands. Kotsu manages to dodge a few before getting struck by several and he tumbles back, Zaccaria managing the same. "Unbelievable. How can Primo and Reborn pick such children for the boss position!?" He yells as they both recover and Kotsu's eyes go wide.

"R-Reborn… and Primo…" He says realizing that if Primo picked him that must mean… "Reborn picked you!?" He says looking to Zaccaria and the cosmic sky flame laughs loudly.

"So the cat's out of the bag huh!? That's right! Reborn-san picked ME over you!" He says smirking devilishly.

 **-NII-**

Outside the mall once more Reborn grits his teeth slightly. "Damn… he found out…"

Primo glances over, having known from the start. "Were you ever going to even tell him?"

"Afterwards I would, but I guess he'll just have to deal with this. Zaccaria handled that spontaneous reveal well though…"

Murphy looks back and forth between them, being the only one among them who wasn't in on it. "What do you mean 'handled it well'!?" he asks and Reborn lets on his signature sly smirk.

"I'll explain after this is over,"

 **-NII-**

Kotsu is in a mild state of confusion wondering exactly why a person like Reborn would choose a person like Zaccaria. Something isn't adding up perfectly. He knows Reborn. He knows that he would never do something without a good reason. He's learned that much during their time together. However he's suddenly snapped out of his trance when suddenly Ywan is right in front of him, his knife raised, blistering with sky flames, shaping a giant broadsword. Kotsu leaps back to avoid it, quickly realizing that Zaccaria is right behind him, and he leaps off the ground into a backflip over Zaccaria swinging one of his forks down at him to create some distance and after getting further into the air he blasts off into the air using one fork for speed and the other for steering and he ends straight over the two others who're still going at it. "Why… why not choose me when you're training me…?" He asks himself before suddenly Ywan releases another wave of swords in all directions and he expertly weaves his way through them all, all the while closing in to Ywan and Zaccaria flipping into a kick, Ywan blocking with his knife stopping his barrage of swords and Zaccaria comes in with another attack and Kotsu points his fork in the other direction towards him shooting a short stream at him before being pushed off by Ywan and he lands right in between the two of them, both striking at him, forcing him to block. He does so with the backs of his forks, pointing them at the opposite opponent they're blocking, firing them both to force his opponents back.

"Still a little confused are we? Let me lay it down for you! It's because I'm BETTER!" Zaccaria yells and it suddenly clicks in Kotsu's mind and he smiles weakly.

"Exactly… I get it now…" He says looking at his fork before clenching it. "You really have a strange way of going about things Reborn… but I'm up for it! Hit me with your worst!" He declares taking a fighting stance with his two forks.


	55. Grand Finale: Transformation

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 55: Grand Finale: Transformation**

Ren and Marco stand side by side, ready for any attack their two opponents can throw at them. Riccardo charges forward, rather unafraid of the two boys while Antonio's phoenix flies overhead towards Rinoka and Cotton. "STAY AWAY FROM MY LADY!" Marco yells and Ren gives him a boost, and their combined efforts, allow Marco to reach the phoenix and he grabs hold of it. "TAKE! THIS!" He yells tossing it towards the ground as he starts falling and the phoenix crashes into the ground. However Riccardo does not let that stop him as he simply punches at Ren, who's standing in his way and Ren counters with a straight spin kick.

"That's quite some power you hold there boy," He says when suddenly Marco comes falling down and he slams Riccardo's head into the ground. Riccardo quickly recovers heading back next to Antonio. "Antonio… these two are not to be taken lightly… and I cannot take them both on with your phoenix like this… let's do that thing Albert said he made, after your battle with Boris," He says and Antonio blinks a little, before he recalls what Riccardo is talking about.

"Oh THAT! HAHA! I completely forgot about that! But sure! Let's try it out! FENICE ATTREZZARE!" (Italian: Phoenix equip) Antonio yells and the phoenix flies into the air as Riccardo holds out his arm. It dives down hitting his arm and it flares up shooting fire all over the place and Riccardo swings his arm out the flames disappears, revealing a large sleek metal sword attached to a gauntlet on his arm, the gauntlet having the slight appearance of Antonio's phoenix. "BRUCIA LA SPADA!" (Italian: burn sword) "Seems he truly went above and beyond! A master piece!" Antonio yells and Riccardo swings it around a little bit.

"Well let's see what this thing can do then," he says before suddenly charging forward. Ren and Marco both prepare their defense as Riccardo swings at them. Ren pushes against it with his kick while Marco grabs hold of with both hands. However Riccardo is simply too strong and manages to overpower them both pushing them back and Ren loses balance, while Marco manages to stay on his feet. "Hmm… it feels like I'm not getting tired…" He says and Marco feels the same, but that is simply because of his dying will mode.

Ren grits his teeth realizing what's going on. "It's me… I'm healing him…" He says knowing about his healing aura. He runs forward and begins trading blows with Riccardo again. He jumps up flipping and comes down with a strong kick, which Riccardo easily blocks.

"You truly are a fool boy. Your good nature is seeping through this façade you've put up," He says pushing Ren away, but right as he does so, Marco comes up from below with a straight uppercut right to Riccardo's gut, sending him flying into the air and Marco jumps into the air and kicks him away from them and out of Ren's range. The brutish man recovers and instantly sets towards them again, Antonio simply watching things unfold as he himself has no way of fighting now that Riccardo has his Brucia la spada. Riccardo gets up in their faces again, before Ren can counter and Marco throws a punch, but he's easily blocked. "You two… stand no chance on your own," he says when suddenly the sound of bricks being broken interrupts them and Ren and Marco both see a cloud of dust flying towards them and it crashes into Riccardo who's not paying attention. As he turns his attention slightly from the thing that just hit him, both Ren and Marco manages to push him away. Everyone looks at the object that just hit them. It's Tsugemora! Riccardo raises an eyebrow before suddenly he sees Antonio come blasting past him.

"Tsh! Not even a challenge? That's pathetic," Boris says standing where Antonio was mere moments earlier his fist out signaling he just punched the storm user.

Ren and Marco both take a step back, seeing Antonio taken out in one strike. "T-this is bad…" Ren says as Tsugemora gets on his feet.

"NONSENSE! We've got THREE opponents we can beat AT ONCE!" He says and points to Rinoka and Cotton hiding behind the three boys. "And it's now five against one against one!" He says pulling out his wire gun.

"Haaaaa?" Boris says looking at the small group. "Do you think you stand a chance?! Don't make me laugh!" He says and begins almost cackling when suddenly Riccardo slices at him, but Boris blocks it with his bandages and punches back, leaving one of his shine bombs on Riccardo.

"Enough with the nonsense Boris. I am here to win, not play games with you,"

"Well too bad!" He yells blowing up the bomb and Riccardo is pushed back a little. The two are about to clash again when suddenly Riccardo feels his weapon entangled in Tsugemora's wire. Boris meanwhile gets a combined attack from Ren and Marco.

"Rinoka! Cotton-heika and you must help them! The big bads are going to win otherwise!" Cotton yells and Rinoka just holds her close.

"T-there's nothing we can do Cotton…"

Cotton suddenly grabs one of the chili balls Jute gave her and triumphantly holds it over her head. "There is! And Rinoka has her birdy friend!" She yells and Rinoka looks at her box weapon, but as she turns her attention away Cotton has already escaped her grasp. "TIAHAHAHAHA! Cotton-heika is coming to the rescue!" She yells running towards the stalemate, gulping down the ball. "BURNING HAIR! ACTIVATE!" She yells her hair erupting in storm flames and she goes even faster thanks to the chili. She jumps over Marco and Ren, onto Boris' arm. "COTTON-HEIKA'S SUPER SPECIAL MOVE: SPINNING BALL OF DEATH!" She yells jumping forward turning into a ball of burning hair and hits Boris straight in the head grinding against his face, with her storm-hair.

"W-what the!?" He manages to get out beforehand, and after she loses her momentum Cotton jumps back landing on Marco's head. Boris grits his teeth pushing away while Riccardo gets free from Tsugemora's wire. "You little…" He tries, but can't quite get himself to yell at her given his soft spot for children. "Heh! Good attack… but watch THIS!" He yells and his bandages glow as he raises his hand. "BLESK BOMBIT!" He yells striking towards Cotton being slightly uncomfortable attacking a child. Cotton tries jumping out of the way, but she's too slow, but right before she's hit Marco comes in grabbing her as her shield getting blasted back towards Riccardo who simply hits the two out of the way before running at Tsugemora swinging his phoenix sword around a little before striking fast and quickly, while Tsugemora just keeps jumping back, barely dodging, not caring if he gets small scratches.

"Child. I've seen your capabilities in battle, but fighting against one of the strongest fighters of your own family… you must you're outmatched in every aspect," He says stabbing at Tsugemora who jumps back raising his gun.

"Not in reach!" He simply retorts, but Riccardo easily slaps the head of his wire away, charging up the wire, suddenly realizing the head comes flying from the side and Tsugemora grabs onto it, retracting his wire jumping up for a kick and right as Riccardo is about to block the wire hits the back of his neck, knocking him forward and Tsugemora quickly retreats and looks behind him at Rinoka standing with her box in hand. "Thanks for the assist Rinoka-san," He says as Chido comes down next to him, having grabbed the wire and redirected it. Riccardo starts laughing wildly.

"Quite impressive and unexpected Tsugemora. However you're unlike your father in many ways! He's a man I respect greatly, but compared to our countless matches this match is nothing like that! But to truly break it to you how powerful I am, how about I show you the true power you're up against! Because with this!" He holds out his sword. "I am more powerful than ever! FENICE ATTREZZARE INTERO!" (Italian: phoenix equip complete) the sword erupts into storm flames and it mixes in Riccardo's sun flames and it covers him completely. The flames disappear in a small explosion showing off slick orange armor, which is on fire and he still has the sword from before as well as phoenix wings.

Tsugemora points his gun at Riccardo. "That makes no difference to me!" He yells when Riccardo speeds forward, way faster than before and he strikes Tsugemora flinging him into a car setting off the alarm.

"It does… with this… you will be unable to touch me," He says turning his attention to Rinoka. "I do not wish to hurt you child. Simply hand over your ring," He says holding out his hand, the sword retracting. Rinoka looks afraid out of her mind and Chido gets in front of her to defend her. It's wings grow and Riccardo takes a step back. "Truly a shame," He says raising his hand and the sword reappears when suddenly something grabs Riccardo's head making the flames disappear completely in the process.

"Excuse me… that's NOT something you ought to do. Turn your back to an enemy," A scary voice says when suddenly Riccardo tries moving and he's slammed into the ground with enough force to make a nearby car jump making a massive crater followed by a huge explosion. Riccardo jumps away quickly. Boris fixes his bandages. "I made an executive decision and have decided that you're a little dangerous. So I'll be taking this fight from here," He says and Riccardo speeds forward with his sword again.

"Truly a foolish move Boris!" However Boris doesn't move an inch as Riccardo approaches and as the elder man strikes with his swords Ren and Marco come jumping out from behind him, blocking both strikes and Boris slams his fists together before punching Riccardo straight in the jaw. "BLESK BOMBIT!"

Riccardo flies backwards gritting his teeth. "You thought I'd fight alone? I may be strong, but even 'I' am not that full of myself," Marco and Ren both take a stance in front of Boris.

"My enemy's enemy is my friend as they say," Marco says and Ren lets on a smile.

"Besides I'd much rather work WITH this guy than against him,"

 **-NII-**

All three boss candidates are standing a little away from each other having a stand-off of sorts. There's quite a bit of damage to the surroundings showing that they've been going at it quite rapidly and all three look slightly exhausted. Ywan suddenly holds up his knife and it bursts with sky flames, forming tons of swords and he blasts them towards his two opponents. Kotsu moves slightly, avoiding three coming at him, sticking one of his forks grabbing a fourth out of the air swinging it back at him with a spin. Right as it leaves his fork he leaps after it. As Ywan evaporates the returning sword Kotsu strikes at him with one of his forks and as Ywan blocks he uses the other to fire a stream of cloud flames directly at him point-blank. This sends him flying back, avoiding an attack from Zaccaria which is then turned to Ywan who jumps back avoiding it, throwing another giant sword of sky flames. Zaccaria blocks it easily with his own sword. "This is getting ridiculous… REVERT 30%" his sword returns to the two katars and he holds them together. "I guess I'll use a little bit more of my power to finish this fight!" He says taking out a strange ring. It's a sky ring obviously and it's five little balls connected by little orange tubes meeting in the middle where the ring is. He puts it on and instantly both Kotsu and Ywan feel that his power has risen.

"What madness is this!?" Ywan exclaims as he prepares to defend.

"This is my cosmic sky ring! Let me show you what it can do!" He yells holding it up and it starts glowing with a really deep orange flame. From what Kotsu understands of flames this means it's of a much higher quality.

"As if I'd let you!" Ywan yells before shooting a giant axe of sky flames at Zaccaria, who simply holds his ring forward and as soon as Ywan's attack hits it disappears.

"No way a low quality like that can get past my perfect harmony. Idiot," He says before swinging one of his katars at Ywan sending a pulse of sky flame his way and it breaks Ywan's barrier, pushing him back, when suddenly Zaccaria glances behind him.

"I respect your power Zaccaria… but don't think it'll be enough to scare me away," Kotsu says striking down at the other young boy. Zaccaria manages to block quite easily.

"And I have NO respect for you what so ever! You think a weak attack like this can get… what the…?" He starts when suddenly he feels pressure being applied to the strike and he notes Kotsu using his second fork as a booster to push him back.

"I do," He says finishing his swing with added power sending Zaccaria flying back hitting Ywan before the cloud user swings one of his forks through his forehead's flame adding a hook to both blades on it and he jams it into the ground holding the other out in front of him blasting a huge pillar at the two of them. "I can thank you for letting me use two forks," He says as both his opponents block the attack charging forward towards him.

"You CHILD! You have some impressive maneuvers but what of it!? As do I!" Ywan yells holding up his knife materializing a sword in his other hand. He holds it forward and it extends. "I'm ending this RIGHT NOW!" He yells and it grows to a gigantic size reaching the second floor of the mall. "RE DEL LA SPADA!" (Italian: King's sword) He swings it down as if it weights nothing at all and Kotsu has no time to dodge and he quickly holds up his forks to block it. The sword slices through the chandelier hanging over the main square hitting him dead on.

 **-NII-**

Primo and the other's outside are watching quite carefully. "What power he has… truly worthy of being the third's reincarnation…" Yamamoto says tapping his sword on his shoulder.

"He's quite special indeed…" Primo says and Murphy looks at them all.

"But… can someone explain why his flames seem to be solid…? He can grab them and so can Kotsu…"

"that's why we're certain he's the third reincarnated. It was an ability unique to him and him only. He has flames that can take solid form. No other person has shown this ability unless you count the real illusions of hard mist flames…"

"I see… that's… terrifying…" Murphy says looking back to the fight. "Even with all our training… will he be alright…?"


	56. Grand Finale: Atonement

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 56: Grand Finale: Atonement**

Kotsu lays on the floor in the middle of a giant slicing mark from Ywan's re del la spada attack. He can barely move. It was quite devastating. He sees Zaccaria standing over him looking down and he's about to try and block whatever the cosmic sky flame will do to him when Zaccaria simply gives him a disgusted look before stepping over him and walking towards Ywan. "I guess it's just you and me then huh old man!?" Zaccaria yells holding out one of his katars. Kotsu grits his teeth attempting to stand, but he's unable to. Suddenly out of nowhere Ywan turns towards one of the entrances seeing Gerald walking through.

"It seems it is not JUST the two of us," He says and Gerald holds out two of the mist rings.

"I took care of Reishiro Ywan. However Pietro is still knocked out cold so I took his ring with me as well," He says tossing them to Ywan who catches them. It's there along with his thunder ring.

"In that case I have two of my seven rings. Go and find the other's," He says and Gerald quickly leaves and right as Ywan turns back he sees Zaccaria right in his face with his katars turned back into a sword and quite a devilish grin on his face. He quickly ducks under the strike and Zaccaria simply uses the momentum to spin striking down at him and Ywan jumps back letting Zaccaria hit the ground creating quite a large impact.

"Turning your back during a fight? Don't they teach the older generation about tactics!?" He yells and Ywan attacks again.

"Don't they teach you to finish off your foes? Leaving the child conscious could result in a disaster,"

"You sound a little scared! Kotsukiba is of no consequence! He doesn't have any of my rings anyway. And he doesn't have any of YOURS either! He doesn't even have one of his own!" He says and Kotsu realizes he's perfectly right. All of his guardians' rings are elsewhere. Ywan has Reishiro's and until he knows for certain all the other's still have theirs. He slowly manages to sit watching the two powerhouses go at it, having to lay back down to avoid one of Ywan's flying swords.

"HOW PATHETIC SECOND! Get the hell up! Where's the resolve you had when you fought ME!" A voice yells from the shadows of another hall and Kotsu gets a slight chill recognizing the voice.

 **-NII-**

Ren grits his teeth. They're still in the parking lot and Riccardo is standing in front of his little group. Boris by his side, however Marco AND Tsugemora have been knocked out by Riccardo along with Cotton. Rinoka is sitting by Marco having taken their rings, knowing they're needed to win.

"Hey Boris… what do we do…?" He asks a little afraid and Boris slams his fists together.

"I've got ONE idea… I don't particularly LIKE that idea since it'll probably knock me out… but it's the only shot I can think of… Riccardo's a little too powerful for me alone at this point… wait for my signal and then hit him with that thing that took out Faust got it?"

"But… why would you go with a strategy that knocks you out…?"

"You won't win anyway… but with Riccardo out of the way Master Zaccaria has a better shot… or so I WOULD say… but there's a whole other reason you don't need to understand… Not right now anyway! Now then! BIRD GIRL! Support me!" He yells slamming his fists together speeding forward towards the armored brute. Rinoka jumps a little hearing him call for her support as the obvious impression she got from him was that he didn't want or NEED any help.

"Y-y-yessir! C-Chido! Support him please!" She declares and Chido flies up next to Boris turning it's wings larger using it's cloud flame to speed up and it closes in rapidly to Riccardo who simply swats it out of the way.

"A bird…? That is your trump card?"

"Not by a long shot!" Boris yells striking at Riccardo who leaps into the air, being able to fly using the wings on his armor causing Boris to hit the ground. "BLESK BOMBIT!" Boris yells causing an explosion beneath him sending him into the air after him managing to grab Riccardo by the arm and he lands two solid right hooks before He's shaken off, however as he falls Chido grabs him trying his hardest to lift him up, but he's too heavy however he CAN manage to make Boris hover in the air. Riccardo comes in from the side.

"Relying on an ally Boris! Now I have seen it all!" He yells attempting to strike at Boris and 'the demolisher' simply smirks.

"There's a lot you don't know about us…" He says allowing Riccardo to hit him, then he grabs his armand Chido let's go of him, the weight being too much for him and the two begin to fall. "NOW!" He yells and Ren on the ground has meanwhile been spinning to charge up his attack and his shoe is glowing immensely. The two other sun guardians come falling down with Riccardo facing away from Ren.

"What is this Boris!? Are you doing what I think you're doing!?" Riccardo yells and Boris just smirks.

"Damn right!" He yells and as they begin to reach the ground Ren sprints towards them and spins. "TAIYOFU!" (Japanese: solar wind) Meanwhile Boris detonates the two bombs he managed to put on Riccardo earlier. "BLESK BOMBIT!" The two attacks connect at the same time, blowing up in both Riccardo's and Boris' face while Ren hits them with his immensely powerful attack sending them flying and Riccardo's armor cracks breaking and Ren hits him dead on sending them flying into the barrier at the end of the arena. Ren puts his foot down panting like crazy. Even he has his limits.

"That… that's it…" He says and Rinoka runs to him after having made sure Marco, Tsugemora and Cotton are safe.

"W-we did it! R-Ren-senpai! We made it!" She says and Ren looks after Boris and Riccardo who's laying right next to each other Boris having a confident smirk on his face and Ren sighs.

"I guess… but I don't really… feel… like we won… Boris did all the work…" Rinoka grabs Ren's hand and gives him all the rings including her own. Chido comes flying with Antonio, Boris' and Riccardo's rings as well

"B-b-b-but h-he wanted to… h-h-h-he was actually SUPER nice… y-you should" She says and Ren looks at Tsugemora and Marco.

"Yeah… but all I ended up doing was be the only one standing at the end… Tsugemora and Marco were both so forward and I stood back and defended…"

The two of them begin making their way back into the mall Ren carrying Marco over his shoulder while Rinoka walks with Cotton. Chido is flying with Tsugemora behind them, holding him by his shirt. As they enter the mall Ren suddenly sees a fist come flying in from out of nowhere. It's Faust! "Guess it's my turn to have a go," He says slamming his fists together and they harden like they did during his previous fight with Ren. Ren quickly sets Marco down getting in front of them.

"F-Faust! I don't want to fight you again!"

Faust cracks his neck a little. "Well too bad… after that little brother of yours knocked me through the wall I've been kind of pissed! That and I've never really gotten hurt as badly as I did against you. So I want some pay-back," He says taking a fighting stance. Ren grits his teeth and grabs the rings from his pocket handing them to Rinoka.

"Rinoka… Have Chido take these to Kotsu… he needs them to win…" he says and Rinoka nods handing them to Chido who flies off into the hallway, Faust not trying to stop it.

 **-NII-**

Elsewhere in the mall Ricci is running around, clearly searching for something specific. "Glad that kid knocked me through the roof. AND that I lost my ring to that cosmic bastard. Then I don't have to pretend to care!" He says jumping off a wall and over a few stalls in front of the giant grocery store in the mall where the rain guardians began the match. He pokes his head inside seeing the place is completely trashed down by the dairy-fridges. It's almost frighteningly destroyed. Clearly a fight or two went down in here. "What… happened in here…?" He says making his way through until suddenly he spots Albert knocked up against a cooling desk, his gauntlet activated on his arm.

The elder man slowly gets up shaking his head a little. "That guy… How on earth does Ywan expect me to defeat a guy like him…?" he thinks aloud to himself before spotting the young boy. "Ricci!?" he says and the two just look at each other for a while. Ricci then lets on a slight smirk, before he bursts off laughing.

"So… finally! We're alone! AND I get to beat the hell out of you," he yells angrily before blasting forward using the bracelets on his legs and throws a hard punch with his short-sleeved arm, the only one he's used so far, not even blocking with his right at any point. "Take this you bastard!" He yells and Albert raises his gauntlet to block.

"We have no reason to fight! I no longer have my rain ring!" Albert says pushing Ricci back.

"Oh yeah!? WHO CARES ABOUT SOME STUPID RING!? This isn't for Zaccaria or the Vongola family! It's for MOM!" He yells bouncing off the air straight back, coming in with a kick, which Albert once more blocks, flings Ricci back and shoots the gauntlet out grabbing Ricci's arm smashing him through a shelf with potato chips.

"This is about your mother!? You insolent brat! There was nothing I could do about that!"

Ricci instantly recovers shooting into the air. "Like hell I'll believe something like that!" However before he gets in close Albert fires the laser function of his gauntlet and Ricci is forced to jump off the air to dodge.

"It's the truth!" Albert yells as the laser powers up due to his anger slicing through the whole store managing to hit Ricci.

 **-NII-**

 **A few years ago**

Ricci, a bit younger comes running in the door to his house. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he yells and a woman pokes her head out to say hi.

"Hello dear. Welcome home. Your father is still at the headquarters working on some of his crazy inventions," she says and Ricci just laughs.

"I know. I said hi to him before heading home,"

 _"We were a happy family. Nothing was wrong! I trained for the Varia, being the prodigy I was. You were the head of R &D of the Vongola! Mom was kept safe by everyone! She had nothing to do with the family, but happily helped out anyway! Because she loved you!" _Ricci angrily yells in the present as the two of them recall the events of the past.

 _"But you just couldn't help yourself! You HAD to bring your inventions home!"_ Ricci is on his way home, one day after getting some more training from Riccardo, happily satisfied with the result. He looks at his bracelet which he's just gotten as a gift from his father to further his strength. "these things are pretty cool…" He says and right as he opens the door to his house there's a huge explosion and he's flung back. He instantly runs in after recovering from the impact using his bracelet to break apart the burning debris that's in his way. "MOM! DAD!" He yells as suddenly Albert comes running out of the burning building.

"Ricci! Get back!" He yells grabbing hold of him as there's another explosion, Albert using a rain shield to block the damage, but they're still sent flying out of a window. After the two of them tumble for a bit Albert lets go and Ricci instantly gets up to run back. "Ricci! Stop! It's no use!"

"But mom's still in there!"

"She… she was in my workshop with me when it happened… there… there was nothing I could do…" Ricci's eyes go blank looking at their burning house and he falls to his knees.

 **-NII-**

"If you hadn't been so obsessed with your stupid inventions mom would still be alive!" Ricci finishes getting in close evading Albert's meager attempt to land a hit with the gauntlet getting a solid hit in. And another. And another. Simply bashing on Albert like there's no tomorrow. He finishes with a punch that sends Albert flying knocking down the shelves like dominos.

"I… I could do nothing to save her… I'm sorry…" He says standing up and Ricci is furious.

"Sorry… isn't… GOOD ENOUGH!" He yells before slowly rolling up his long sleeve and Albert's eyes widen.

"Ricci… what is that on your arm?" He says slowly as Ricci has covered his entire right arm in the same bracelets he has on his other arm and legs.

"This is just one of your inventions dad… you should be proud… shouldn't you?" he says gritting his teeth as all of the bracelets on his right arm burst with storm flames. He runs towards Albert rage clearly filling him to the brim. "TAKE THIS! FOR MOM! FURIOSO TEMPESTA!" (Italian: Raging tempest) He yells striking with his right arm for the first time during the ring conflict and even with Albert putting up his gauntlet, Ricci's punch breaks it to pieces instantly without much trouble hitting Albert straight in the stomach, and both of them fly back opposite directions hitting the opposite walls, Ricci knocking himself out. Right as Albert is about to hit the wall he lets on a slight smile.

"I am proud of you… and your mother would be as well…" He manages to get out a single tear forming in his eye. "I miss you dear…" Before he crashes through the wall getting knocked out. Ricci is bleeding quite severely as his entire right arm is now missing, having blown it off with his attack. However he's smiling to himself.

 **-NII-**

"HOW PATHETIC SECOND! Get the hell up! Where's the resolve you had when you fought ME!" A voice yells and all three boss candidates look to see whom the owner of the voice is. Kotsu is half-relieved and half-afraid to see Geraldino walking into the plaza. "Yo…" He simply says leaning his head back walking straight up to Kotsu raising his sword before jamming it right next to Kotsu's face. "I got ya' something Second," He says and Kotsu holds out his hand before being dumped a ton of rings. Three rain, two cloud, a mist, a storm.

"Who's are these?" Kotsu asks and Geraldino points around at them a little.

"Well it's the guardian rings and the one's with a bronze ring is yours… silver for Zaccaria and golden for Ywan. You do that math," He says standing up. Kotsu notes that if that is the case then he's currently holding the rings for, Kagetora, Albert, Geraldino himself, NM-5, Galileo, Barley and Ricci.

"You thought I'd just been slacking off didn't you…? Get real," He says pulling his sword from the ground. "I numbed the pain for a bit with my flame. So get up. I'm gonna go find someone to cut," He says before leaving and Kotsu puts away all his newly acquired rings and slowly gets up feeling slightly refreshed. The tranquility of Geraldino's cosmic rain flame must've made it feel less painful.

"Thank you…" He says and Geraldino simply stops.

"Don't thank me… this is just me paying you back since I tried to kill you… Now give them hell…" As he leaves the middle he grits his teeth angrily. "Guess I've done my part. I'm gonna go grab something to eat from the store…" He says heading to the grocery store again.

With that… he's gone again. As quickly as he arrived. But that was all Kotsu really needed.

He looks to Ywan and Zaccaria who stopped their fight shortly to see what was happening, for some reason neither daring to attack Geraldino. "We're on even footing now… so let's do this."


	57. Grand Finale: Return

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 57: Grand Finale: Return**

Kotsu takes a few seconds to check if he can move properly before suddenly blasting forward at full speed at his two opponents striking at them both with a fork each and as they both block he springs up doing a spin-flip in the air shooting them both with a cloud beam. Ywan jumps back creating a giant axe out of his sky flame, striking down at Kotsu, who uses one of his forks to boost out of the way right as Zaccaria comes for him causing him to get the full front of the attack, however he pays it no mind using his cosmic sky flame to negate it easily. "So you're back in the fight!? You were beaten down once! Don't think we can't do it again!" He yells as the two of them start closing in on Kotsu in spite of his best efforts to keep his distance knowing it's only the pain that's been numbed by Geraldino's cosmic rain flame.

"I intend fully to win this battle. So that is what I will do," He simply says landing and he aims for Ywan with his fork and the tips light up however they don't fire. Kotsu grits his teeth. He's out of flames to use for his forks. He's down to just using them to fly with as they can't accumulate enough to shoot with. Ywan of course notes this and smirks as he gets in close making his knife longer with his solid flames.

"So you are running out of dying will flames! And yet you think you can defeat BOTH of us!?" He yells striking at Kotsu who blocks and right after Zaccaria comes in striking at Ywan who was too focused on Kotsu and gets flung back as the two young boys begin their close quarters fight. Kotsu keeps blocking his sword strikes with one fork landing small hits with the other and Zaccaria grits his teeth. "REVERT 30%" His sword splits in two and the two continue and now Zaccaria can block his second strikes as well. The two end in a stalemate when suddenly Ywan comes in breaking with a solid strike from a giant sword he created and the three break from each other. All three are panting immensely and from the looks of them all they are each quite badly damaged. Kotsu quickly concludes that it's about to be over. During the first part of the fight Zaccaria would've definitely been able to block all his second strikes with just the one sword and Ywan wouldn't have been taken off-guard by Zaccaria's previous attack.

"I grow tired of this fight! The one who will be boss is me!" Ywan yells charging forward and Zaccaria grits his teeth angrily.

"Like hell you will! IT! WILL! BE! ME!" he yells creating his sword again. Kotsu closes his eyes and concentrates.

"This is it…" he says before his eyes shoot open and his flame bursts for a few seconds and he runs forward. The three clash for likely the final time, each striking with all their might, but it seems the they can just barely manage to scrape by each other. "I understand both of you… you came from a dark place… You want to prove your usefulness!" Kotsu declares landing a solid kick pushing Zaccaria back. "Ywan… your brothers… and your mother… the world treated you like garbage!" Ywan's eyes get filled with a mixture of grief and anger.

"What do you know about me!? Cease your mindless attempt at sympathy!" he yells stabbing at Kotsu with his knife and finally Kotsu spots his chance.

"You're right. I don't know much about you…" He says catching Ywan's knife within the two spikes on his fork and with a quick jerk manages to make him lose his grip on his knife. "But I do know that you cannot treat your people poorly! Just because some people are evil does not mean EVERYONE is!" He yells and Ywan, in the moment he lost his knife I taken completely aback and Kotsu lands a solid his in his stomach before knocking him high into the air. Without his knife he has no way to recover. Kotsu blasts forward for Zaccaria while Ywan is in the air and the two begin their fight again. "And you Zaccaria. I'm sorry your father died! But that is no reason to act the way you do! I know you must have SOME good in your heart!" Zaccaria grits his teeth, as they enter a stalemate.

"You're an idiot if you think I have good left in my heart Kotsukiba! I lost that LONG AGO!" He yells and as they break the stalemate Kotsu drops one of his forks leaving him with just one. "REVERT 20%" Zaccaria declares and his two katars once more become one, this time it's looking more like a brass-knuckle with two large spikes on it. "KOTSUKIBAAAAA!" He yells striking when suddenly Kotsu closes his eyes.

"I KNOW you have good in your heart… Reborn wouldn't have picked a cruel person like you…" He says leaping to the side spinning with his final fork held like a bat. Zaccaria's eyes go wide as right in front of his attack Ywan comes falling and he pulls his arm back, and right as he does Kotsu finishes his fork swing hitting Ywan straight in the stomach and knocking him into Zaccaria both of which fly back and hit the fountain in the middle of the plaza getting knocked out in the process. Kotsu stabs his remaining fork into the ground using it as support as he falls to his knees. Just then Chido comes flying. "Chido…" He says seeing that it's carrying some rings which is dumps into his hand. "These are all mine… and… Boris'… Antonio and Riccardo's… then I just need… Reishiro's… to win…" he says when suddenly out of the corner of his eyes two figures emerge and get in front of Zaccaria and Ywan. It's Gerald and Faust. Faust carrying Ren, who's unconscious. "Ren…" Kotsu says and the two of them look at their boss candidates.

"Kotsukiba… you know we can't just allow you to take that ring…" Gerald says and Kotsu grits his teeth before getting into a fighting stance though it's clear that he hasn't got much left to go on, while Faust and Gerald look in great condition.

"I already said… that I… will win…" He says and the two thunder guardians begin running forward. They both strike at him, but miss the attack as Kotsu ducks under it and when they turn to see what he'll do they hear him hit the ground as his flame disappears from his forehead.

"He… passed out…" Gerald says and Faust looks at him.

The two thunder guardians look at each other, realizing that they are the only ones left as well as Geraldino somewhere. "So… I take it you will take Zaccaria's rings and give them to him.

Faust looks at Zaccaria. He then takes off his thunder ring placing it in Kotsu's hand. "He beat master Zaccaria… that was his condition…" he says and Gerald looks at Ywan and then down at Kotsu, before smiling.

"You are a good friend to Tsugemora, Kotsukiba…" he says putting his own thunder ring into Kotsu's hand and the two of them go and grab Zaccaria's vongola sky ring, Ywan's vongola sky ring and Pietro's mist ring and naturally Reishiro's mist ring. They place them all in his hand and just as Reishiro's ring hits his palm the clock hanging from the middle of the main hall rings loudly.

 _"The second ring conflict is hereby CONCLUDED! The winner is: Kotsukiba Niruo! Possession count: Ywan: 0 rings collected! Zaccaria: 0 rings collected! Kotsukiba: 21 rings collected!"_ Primo and the rest re-enter the mall and a ton of healers from the Cervello enter as well heading around to where all the guardians are laying.

Reborn stands over Kotsu, kneeling down and holds out his sun ring, turning it on and Kotsu slowly opens his eyes. "R-Reborn! What happened!? I-I lost…" he says remembering that Gerald and Faust 'defeated him'.

"You won. Well done. Now get up," He simply says and Kotsu slowly sits up feeling sore all over as Geraldino's 'pain-killers' have worn off.

"But… HOW!?" He says and Gerald walks up to him.

"It's simple Kotsukiba… I see you worthy of being the Vongola boss," he says and Kotsu slowly manages to stand getting a few of the Cervello healers to him.

"But… what about Ywan… you were chosen to be HIS guardian…"

"Sometimes a parent makes a weird choice… that's all I can say…" he says leaving to help out with the cleaning as this mall needs to be as good as new as soon as possible.

Kotsu's eyes widen. "My friends!? W-where are they!?" He demands to know and Reborn smacks him over the head.

"Calm down will you. They'll all be here in a few minutes. Ren's right over there," He says and Kotsu runs to Ren as the healers get him conscious again and he slowly sits up.

"Sir don't move too much you still need healing…"

"It's fine…" he says with a happy smile having gotten a good grasp on his own ability to heal. Kotsu suddenly comes crashing into him giving him a hug.

"REN! You're okay!" He yells and cries into Ren's sports jacket.

"Yeah… I'm fine… and… from now on… I'll be the guardian you need me to be…" He says and Kotsu sniffles happily.

"Yeah… that sounds good…"

 **-NII-**

After a few minutes of waiting around everyone has woken up. Kotsu looks to Ywan who simply glares him down annoyed beyond belief. "Beaten by a mere child…" He says and Kotsu gulps.

"S-sorry?" He says and Ywan reluctantly holds out his hand.

"But I suppose you beat me fair and square… let me be clear, boy… I do not acknowledge you. I only acknowledge your power," he says and Kotsu shakes his hand. "We're leaving!" he declares walking off along with all his guardians, except Albert who has to go through a more thorough healing after what happened with Ricci.

"NII-SAAAN!" Tsugemora yells and comes sprinting and Kotsu dodges almost instinctively causing Tsugemora to tumble after his attempt at assault. However instead of standing he simply grovels and bows with his head on the ground for Kotsu. "I'm so sorry Nii-san! I lost once more! I only managed to beat NM-5 and no one else! I was weak, but I swear I will become stronger! I SWEAR IT NII-SAN!"

"A-alright alright! Calm down Tsugemora! It's alright… we… we won. So it's fine…"

Slowly but surely his entire group gets together, Cotton also really angry that she didn't get to beat anyone up, while Rinoka and Ren are simply glad it's all over. Reishiro has little memory of what happened, and Marco is happy Cotton is safe. Kotsu looks around not seeing Geraldino anywhere. He figures quickly that he's probably doing his own thing. He's a pretty distant fellow…

Zaccaria stands nearby talking to his guardians. Kotsu looks away from his conversation with his own to look at him and the cosmic sky flame notices him. He walks over. "H-hey… Zaccaria… I um… I'm sorry?" he says already apologizing like he did to Ywan.

"No need for that. You fought really well. With such a short time for training and improving you really pulled through!" He says with a smile Kotsu has not seen before taking him completely aback.

"W-why're you so friendly…?" Kotsu asks and Zaccaria just laughs a little.

"Well you see… that was all just an act… to try and get you motivated to beat me… and it surely worked!" he says and Kotsu is now more confused than ever.

"B-but… why would you… and then…?" He says his brain almost short-circuiting.

"Allow me to explain," Reborn says coming out from behind.

"Wait what!? But you NEVER explain ANYTHING!"

"You'll just bother me about it anyway,"

 **-NII-**

 _"A while ago I got a call from Primo saying that the council of the Vongola, had voted for a third man system. And that man was Ywan. Normally we COULD just both vote against him by choosing a third, but Primo proposed something else…"_

"What do you mean 'pick someone else'? you really are no good Tsuna," Reborn says over the phone and Primo smirks on the other end.

"Maybe just a little bit, but hear me out… If Kotsu simply becomes boss… then what happens…?"

"Nothing,"

"Exactly… but he'll need to face stronger opponents in the future where we cannot be there to assist him. So he NEEDS training. The only way that'll happen is if THREE candidates are chosen,"

"Alright… So what you're saying is… we use the council to train Kotsu," Reborn says before smirking. "That's just stupid enough to work. So who should I pick?"

"I've got someone in mind… do you know Zaccaria?"

"the new leader of the Varia? The boy who stayed 13? The cosmic sky flame? Yeah I know him. He won't do. He's too strong…"

"I think you'll be able to talk him into it," Primo says hanging up.

"Did he just…?" Reborn says looking at the phone. "I'm smacking him next time I see that no-good-Tsuna…" he says before walking away.

 _"He asked me to talk over Zaccaria. A guy known for being kind and just to everyone. A guy who was known as a perfect leader,"_

"I won't do it… I can't," Zaccaria says sitting at a desk doing some paperwork.

"You're the ideal leader Zaccaria. You know this! Taking over the Varia at your age of 13."

"I'm 25 Reborn-san. I took it over when I was 20,"

"You have the power. You have the skill and you have the leadership potential to be the ideal boss,"

"You're wrong. I've already reached my maximum potential… my cosmic sky flame doesn't let me get stronger due to its harmony-ability… And I know I'm not strong enough to beat some of the enemies I'll have to face during my time as boss,"

"I know that… which is exactly why I'm asking YOU," Zaccaria puts down his pen.

"What do you mean?" Reborn explains his and Primo's plan. Zaccaria thinks for a moment.

"So you want me to be the pseudo-trainer for Primo's candidate? I'll… have to spy on him to find out if he's worthy…"

 _"And so he did. For quite a while. He saw you during most of your ventures. He even saw you fight with Geraldino. It was right after then that he returned to me,"_

Zaccaria stands in front of Reborn. "I'll do it… but he's very kind-hearted. So I have a few conditions. My guardians will be the Varia members. And we will all be acting evil. If I can kind or show compassion he will want ME to be boss. And also I want you to keep it a secret that YOU were the one who chose me. Those are my conditions," he says and Reborn and him shake on it.

 **-NII-**

"So that's what happened," Reborn finishes and Kotsu gulps.

"Then… what if I failed…?"

Zaccaria smiles slightly. "then I would've beaten Ywan and become boss. But it was a risk I was willing to take, since I trusted your immense potential," he says smirking slightly.

Kotsu smiles. "T-thanks for that Zaccaria… So you're… actually a nice guy,"

"Well that's a subjective opinion… but so I've been told…" he says holding out his hand. "So… let's be friends?"

"S-sure… it'll take a while to get used to that… you were really good at acting,"

"Well I'm a hitman. It's part of the job…" He simply says and the rest of his group walk up behind them. Ricci with a large bandage around his missing arm. The healers can't heal an injury like that. But everyone else just looks exhausted. "So I'd like you all to meet Varia. The REAL version of us,"

Tsugemora angrily points to them. "So how much of it was faking it!?" He demands to know and Boris tsks.

"Let's just say we pulled out our cruel sides. What you saw was pretty much the real me, though I'd never let a child fight," he says looking at Cotton with a kind and confident smile.

"Glad we see eye to eye sir," Marco says giving a confirming nod his way.

"I am a ninja as stated," Kagetora says looking quite ashamed that he simply got taken out by Geraldino without being able to put up much of a fight. Cotton's eyes sparkle.

"A REAL Ninja," Kagetora simply nods, looking quite a bit more confident from the simple praise.

"I'm not as hot-headed as you would be led to believe," Ricci says shrugging before winching in pain, not used to having an entire arm missing.

"I don't hold grudges for that long. But I had to stop you," Faust says holding out his hand to Ren. "You're pretty powerful,"

"T-thanks… but I was really angry during our fight so…"

 _"I am a machine… I am incapable of pretending, but I did withhold information,"_ NM-5 says and Rinoka just pouts.

"T-that's not t-true! Y-you warned me about Galileo… y-you're really nice,"

 _"My programmer thanks you,"_ He says bowing politely.

"So now that we're done being all buddy buddy, I'm gonna get the hell out of here…" Barley says also having gotten 'knocked out' by Geraldino though in reality he used his hair to make Geraldino think that per Zaccaria's orders. "Why the hell did you even want me to be your guardian in the first place?" he says mostly to himself.

Zaccaria turns to him. "You know… we could use someone like you in Varia if you're interested?"

"Tch! No way in hell that's happening! I don't even LIKE half of you people! Such a bunch of goodie two shoes!" Barley says and walks off, looking to Jute. "See you back home cousin,"

Kotsu smiles happily to himself as they say their goodbyes to the Varia. Primo comes up to them with a big smile plastered on his face. "Well fought Kotsu. And I'm sorry for keeping secrets from you. But congratulations on your win! I would like to invite you to Italy with me, next summer break, which is right around the corner. So we can officially get you introduced to the family. What do you say?" He says smiling happily that his candidate won.

Kotsu holds out his hand. "that sounds… pretty nice… I guess… you're leaving then…"

"Yeah… but I will see you soon so no worries there," he says and the two laugh as he hears a helicopter outside. "That's our que. Take care Kotsu," he says as he leaves for Italy, along with Gokudera and Yamamoto.

Kotsu falls backwards, being caught by Ren and Tsugemora. "I'm… a little tired guys… can we go home now…?"

"Yeah… let's do that…" Ren says and they all look up amazed that they won the ring conflict.

 **-NII-**

Out the back of the mall where Ywan and his guardians are walking, going towards the station to get to the airport as well they're stopped as someone exits a tree. A very tall man towering almost a head above Ywan who's already quite a well-built man with short brown hair and a tattoo on his cheek with the number 16 and wearing a large coat over his entire body so only his head is visible. "I see that you have failed Ywan. They will not be happy with you, you know?" Ywan raises an eyebrow not recognizing the tall figure.

"Whom are you speaking of and who are you?" He says already having drawn his weapon.

"My name is unimportant. But your brothers were very much hoping you would win…" He says and Ywan's eyes go wide and his knife bursts with flames and he leaps forward for the man.

"You are with THEM! Tell me where they are!" He yells and all Ywan's guardians prepare to fight the man as well.

"I cannot as I don't know. But they are looking for any opportunity they can get to come and destroy your family… they know where you are Ywan… and we will find you," he says suddenly disappearing into thin air.

Ywan grits his teeth. "They're coming for me? Those three will be in for one hell of a bad surprise if they try and destroy MY family…" he says gritting his teeth. He looks where the man stood seeing a card on the ground. It's a tarot card. The tower. On the back it says. 'We're coming for you. Brotherly love: Joseph, Nikita, Leonid' it says and Ywan gets angry tossing the card into the air holding up his knife and it bursts with sky flames. "RE DEL LA SPADA!" He yells and slams the giant sword into the card completely evaporating it. "Those three… I will kill them if they so much as approach my family…"


	58. Beach episode

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 58: Beach episode**

After the ring conflict ended so did the field trip to Tokyo. On the train home to Namimori, Fumie was complaining the whole time about how the mall was closed the entire time saying things like "It was so huge! And with so many stores! I never got any of their clothes!" with Kotsu trying to calm her down, explaining that the renovation was probably important and so on knowing damn well that whole mall will need a makeover after the ring conflict.

Kotsu and Ren are walking to school with the usual crowd of Tsugemora, Fumie and Reishiro, the girl and thunder guardian arguing over something stupid again. Ren looks up at the sky. "So… it's been a week huh…?" Ren says and Kotsu looks up along with him seeing the few clouds floating across the sky.

"Yeah… and we won… are you sure you're okay with fighting… even if it's for me?" Kotsu asks and Ren pulls him into a headlock with a smile.

"Of course I am… it was the ONE thing I learned during that whole ordeal… I need to be there for you, not just in spirit… but in body as well. If it makes you happy then it'll make me happy too. If any more badguys show up…" He says pausing and he takes a few steps forward doing a kick into the air followed by an air-flair and into a back-roll. "I'll be ready!" He says smiling happily as he stands up straight again.

"You… could ask Reborn to teach you some fighting techniques?" Kotsu suggests and Ren sighs.

"I tried… but all he said was…" he says thinking back to him in the back garden with Reborn reading a book.

 _"If I teach you how to fight then what's the point in making you his sun guardian and not me?"_

"And told me to leave him alone with his reading…" Ren finishes and Kotsu gets a blankly annoyed look.

"Sounds like him alright," Kotsu says with a sigh as they arrive at the school.

 **-NII-**

During the break Fumie gets up behind Kotsu who's seemingly in deep through and she blows in his ear causing him to jump in his seat. "Fumie?! W-what'd you do that for?!"

"You were looking a little sulky is all. In fact you've been like that since the camp! You DID win that game didn't you?"

"Yeah… but I definitely didn't deserve the win…"

"Nonsense! But anyway! I've been thinking about going to the beach recently! You wanna come! It's summer time and really warm outside! It could be fun!" She says and Kotsu thinks for a few seconds about Fumie in a swimsuit. Would she have a one-piece or a bikini…?

He quickly shakes his head. "S-sure… who else have you invited?"

Fumie points around the class. "Just a few of my friends… you can invite people you know to come as well if you want!"

"So… you want me to invite Ren?" He says and she nods in the most adorably determined way, not hiding her true intentions in the slightest. "Got it… I guess that means Reishiro's coming too…" He says thinking a little and Fumie is already heading off to ask Rinoka who's quietly sitting and reading a book. Judging by her expression she wants to go but is desperately trying to figure out how to say yes. "So… we're going to the beach…" He says to himself smiling a little. Maybe that's what he needs. He's been thinking a lot about the ring conflict and how he won in an unfair way. The only guardians that could still fight were Rinoka, Faust and Gerald… both of the thunder guardians could easily defeat Rinoka… but he won nonetheless and he should be proud of that! Though Geraldino was walking around somewhere too...

 **-NII-**

On the way home from school they all spot Marco and Cotton standing out front, Marco in red tuxedo suit and Cotton in her usual onesie. "Good evening sir. How was school?" He asks as he begins walking with the usual group.

"It was… good? Why're YOU here?" Kotsu asks and Marco looks to Cotton.

"My lady wished to come and greet you as always," He says stepping as far from Fumie as possible without seeming rude.

Cotton angrily pouts. "Marco! Cotton-heika does NOT want to see Mortal-kun more than necessary!" however she's ignored as Kotsu looks to the group.

"By the way guys… Fumie wants to go to the beach sometime… You guys want to join?" He asks hesitantly and Tsugemora jumps happily.

"If Nii-san will be there then so will I!" He declares and Ren just chuckles.

"Sure… I'll come. It'll be a good change of pace," He says Reishiro just nodding not really knowing what's happening, but he goes along with it. "What about you Marco? Cotton?" He adds and Marco almost freezes.

"I don't think I-" He starts but Cotton just jumps from his arms and onto Tsugemora's head.

"Cotton-heika will go to the beach! She will beat up ALL the watermelons!" She proudly proclaims stomping on Tsugemora who doesn't feel a thing due to not feeling pain.

"I suppose I will need to go as well then…" Marco says sighing.

 **-NII-**

They decided to go to the beach during the following weekend having plenty of time to be there and Fumie, Kotsu, Ren, Tsugemora and Reishiro arrive first. Fumie in her red-floral patterned bikini, Kotsu and Ren both having opted for simple swim trunks in their respective flame-color Kotsu in purple and Ren in yellow. Kotsu is looking slightly stronger than last time he was bare-chested, due to Murphy's rough training during the ring conflict. Ren meanwhile is quite fit which shows clearly and Reishiro isn't even wearing trunks. He's just in his ordinary clothing. "We're here!" Fumie proclaims running towards the water, the boys carrying all their things. They set up camp near the water and Fumie stretches happily while Kotsu and Ren put up their parasol. "Alright boys! First in the water's a rotten egg!" She yells and starts running and Ren just chuckles setting off after her along with Tsugemora.

"I won't lose to you, Ren! 'I' am going to be Nii-san's strongest guardian!"

"A race is it? Then I'm in!" He yells laughing and Reishiro is right behind him, surprising Kotsu quite a bit with how fast Ren runs and he sets off as well, though without his dying will mode or hyper dying will mode he's quite weak and as they get in the water he's last and already a little exhausted. "Looks like I win!" Ren declares and splashes Fumie who just giggles trying to shield herself. Reishiro is in the water as well in his normal clothes not seeming to mind. Kotsu joins them and they all splash around a bit before Kotsu looks up seeing someone under their parasol and he goes to check who it is.

"Um… excuse me… this is our parasol… you can't just-" he starts before the person lifts his sunglasses.

"I know Secondo," Geraldino says and Kotsu jumps.

"What are YOU doing here?!"

"I'm trying to relax but you're making that harder for me. Go away," he commands and Kotsu just sighs before Geraldino smirks a little. "By the way I brought someone," He says gesturing behind him and Kotsu looks up seeing Rinoka shyly approaching the beach wearing a towel over her swimsuit looking around for anyone she knows. She spots Kotsu and Reborn and her eyes light up a little and she quickly makes her way over.

"H-h-h-h-h… Hello… K-Kotsu-san…" she manages to get out, her face already red along with Kotsu's as they both just look at each other.

"H-hey… Rinoka-san… you actually came," He says and Rinoka looks down a little fiddling with her toes in the sand.

"O-O-of course… B-because you're here…" She shyly says and Geraldino sits up.

"Well now you two. Stop standing around. Ren and the others are staring," He says and Rinoka tries hiding behind Kotsu as he sees Ren and Tsugemora looking at them.

"Y-yeah… come on let's go swim a little," Kotsu says and Rinoka blushes sending Kotsu ahead and she sits down next to Geraldino a little sad-looking.

"Is something the matter, Master?" He asks and Rinoka just blushes.

"W-what if he doesn't like my swimsuit…?" She says having gotten to be a little more open with Geraldino specifically.

"Nonsense…" He simply says taking a sip of a beer he brought. "I've lived at your house for about a week… and I know that you're too diligent and hardworking to give up on something before you try. So… nonsense…" he says and Rinoka blushes a little before taking off her towel and slowly heads towards Kotsu. It's just a simple black onepiece swimsuit, nothing special, but she's set her hair up in a bun to prevent it from falling in her face. She can't really have a hairpin in her hair while in the water after all. She heads out to join the others slowly stepping in the water gasping lightly as it's pretty cold in spite of the warm weather.

"Glad you could join us!" Ren says splashing her a little with his carefree expression.

"Y-y-yeah… T-Thank you Ren-senpai…" She says trying to get herself to splash him back but she can't really get herself to do it, being so timid.

"Oh please… We're not really upper- and underclassman anymore. We're fellow guardians. So maybe call me something else," He says chuckling a little. "Like Ren-pai or something," He says laughing at his own joke and Rinoka fidgets with her hair a little.

"R-Ren-pai…? I-I like it," She says and Ren just smiles.

"Then I'll be Ren-pai," he says dragging her with him out to others seeing Fumie holding Tsugemora under the water clearly in another argument with the young boy, Kotsu trying to defuse the situation, Reishiro having gone invisible, though you can see where he is in the water.

 **-NII-**

After the group fools around a little in the water they all go up Ren having brought a net he borrowed from the school on Reborn's approval for beach volleyball and Ren and Tsugemora both pull on the net to get it stretched out, Tsugemora instantly seeing it as a chance to compete with the sun guardian, who still seems to be wearing his guardian ring and it's still flaring strong. "As if I'll let you beat me THIS time Ren!" He yells pulling the string back as hard he can and Ren just lifts an eyebrow getting down in the sand to hammer his own string into the ground.

"I… don't think this is the point of the game… that comes a little later…" He says laughing happily as Kotsu simply watch the two guardians 'fighting' Rinoka shyly standing beside him.

"Don't you guys think we're a little few to be playing beach volley?" He asks and Ren looks at their little group before smiling.

"Well not now at least," He says pointing and Kotsu looks in the direction seeing Marco come walking with Cotton in his arms, Cotton in her own little red onepiece, her hair still flowing free as it's against Rosa Rossa custom to restrain your hair in any manner. They all use their burning hair to force their hair into the many braids they wear. Marco meanwhile is looking quite vary of his surroundings as he approaches.

"Good day sir," He says bowing politely as he lets Cotton go and she runs to Tsugemora assaulting him and getting on top of his head.

"H-Hello… no need to be so formal with me… I'm just a normal guy after all…" Kotsu says and Marco shakes his head.

"That will not do sir. I see we're are playing beach volleyball? Have the teams been decided?" He asks and Ren looks between their group.

"Let's see… Me, Reishiro, Fumie aaaaand lil' bro vs Rinoka, Tsugemora, Marco and Cotton," He suggests and everyone happily agrees, except Marco.

"B-but I cannot…" He says looking to Rinoka, gulping trying his best to not make her uncomfortable. "I-it is fine Ren sir," He concludes Rinoka looking slightly uncomfortable as Cotton climbs onto Tsugemora's head.

"B-but I'm… not good at sports…" She says poking her fingers together and Tsugemora just throws his arms in the air Cotton doing the same from atop his head.

"That's alright! We'll win anyway! I'm not losing to Ren!" He declares pointing to the older boy who just laughs grabbing the ball.

"YEAH!" Cotton agrees.

"I like your spirit, Tsugemora!" Ren exclaims happily, preparing his serve.

"Yeah! But we won't lose either, Tsugemora!" Fumie yells back knowing that Ren is quite amazing at most, if not all, sports. Kotsu knows the same however it DOES make him wonder how good Reishiro is.

"Here I come!" Ren says taking a run-up jumping into the air slamming the ball over at what feels like super-sonic speed and it flies right past Tsugemora and Cotton's heads and into the sand and Ren smiles. "Good try! One more!" He says Rinoka tossing the ball back to him and she looks to Marco a little afraid.

"M-Marco-san… I-I don't think I c-can take that ball… c-can you… help me if it comes my way?" She shyly asks and Marco takes a small step back. Kotsu looks at the odd exchange before remembering that Marco's afraid of girls… and if that's the case Rinoka is the most girly girl ever.

"I-I will try lady Rinoka," He reluctantly says as Ren gears up for the serve again, not knowing how to hold back in a friendly sport match. He aims the exact same place as before, but Tsugemora manages to intercept this time and it flies into the air.

"It's yours Rinoka!" He declares as it slowly approaches and Rinoka starts panicking not knowing how to receive it in any way until she hears Kotsu from the other side.

"Just hit it up Rinoka. The others will help!" He yells and she tries her best to hit it up, but it doesn't get anywhere close to up into the air, however Marco enters dying will mode blasting in, hitting it over the net, exiting the state in an instant as well.

"I-I'm sorry Marco-san… I-I wasn't very good," She says and Tsugemora just laughs.

"Well we got it over didn't we!?" He says confidently before the ball slams into the ground at his feet. Everyone looks confused at what happened seeing Ren landing from his spike after Reishiro set it up for him. Even Kotsu is confused. "W-what happened!?" Tsugemora demands to know and Ren just laughs.

"I received, Reishiro set and I spiked. That's how we usually do it. Sorry you two. Next time how about one of you spikes it?" He suggests and Kotsu nervously laughs.

Marco laughs a little as well. "I see… if we're up against that kind of power then I will receive it with my dying will!" He declares activating his ability once again as Ren prepares to attack, both Rinoka and Tsugemora looking at their teammate. Ren blasts it off at his intense speed and it flies right for Rinoka, however as she flinches Marco gets in front uppercutting the ball into the air, exiting his dying will mode. "I got it!" He says and looks up. None of them can see the ball… Seems he MIGHT have hit it too hard… as Marco leans his head back to look he manages to catch a glimpse of Rinoka's hair in his peripheral vision and he almost leaps forward in fear. "My apologies lady Rinoka! I have no sense of personal space in my dying will mode!" He excuses bowing politely again, and Rinoka just tears up a little.

"Thank you… that was really scary!" She says thinking back to that terrifying serve Ren used. The ball finally comes back down and Tsugemora sets it to Marco who makes a spike using his dying will mode and they finally score their first point.

 **-NII-**

After around 30 minutes of playing the others have pretty much giving up on playing with Ren and Marco as the match slowly devolved into Marco using his dying will to spike and receive any ball Ren tosses his way Ren doing the exact same, and the two are currently at their 31st point with the score 15-15. The rest of the group, save Fumie, who's just watching their game, is sitting under the parasol with Geraldino. "So… how long have their been going those two?" the young cosmic flame asks.

"I think… at least 30 minutes?" Kotsu says and everyone nods in unison at the two inexhaustible humans.

Reishiro sits up looking around. "What else do you do at a beach…?" He asks and Rinoka pokes her fingers together.

"We could… build a sandcastle…?" She suggests and Tsugemora jumps up.

"I will build a sandcastle with Nii-san! It will be the best sandcastle ever!" He declares and Cotton jumps into Rinoka's arms.

"Then Cotton-heika and Rinoka will build one as well and our armies will clash!" She yells and Rinoka gets a little flustered.

"C-Cotton-chan. W-W-We don't h-have armies…" she says and Cotton pouts.

"Well then Cotton-heika thinks it is boring," She says but goes along with it anyway, Geraldino laughing a bit.

"You're such a strange bunch of kids," He says looking at Ren and Marco who're STILL going on in their 31st point, neither tiring. It seems a few people have come to watch them. Marco rams a spike and Ren is forced to use his foot to hit it and it flies away from the net and he sprints after it, jumping up doing an overhead kick sending it right back to Marco.

"You're pretty good Marco!" He says and Marco sends it right back with a quick one-two hit barely giving Ren enough time to get it.

"Thank you, Ren sir. I am happy to be on your team," He says and Ren finally manages to get the better of Marco by deciding on something tricky, jumping up kicking it straight down with his intensely powerful kick Fumie cheering for him as it hammers into the sand.

"That was amazing Ren-senpai!" She says and Ren just smiles at her.

"Well Marco's no slouch it seems!" He says and the two shake on it neither of them seeming to be tired in the slightest.

"It was an honor, Ren sir," he says as girls flock up to them freaking him out a little, Ren mostly not minding them at all, Marco bolting away to 'go check on Cotton'.

 **-NII-**

Rinoka and Cotton are sitting and making a sandcastle, Rinoka feeling a bit more at ease around Cotton given that she's like the older sister in their relationship. "Rinoka. Let's add a tower! It can blast all the enemies away!" Cotton declares grabbing the bucket filling it with sand and Rinoka just giggles a little.

"S-sure… b-but let's not do evil things okay Cotton-chan?"

"Cotton-heika cannot be an overlord by being nice!" She yells looking at Kotsu and Tsugemora who're also making a sandcastle, one of the two being a million times more energetic than the other.

"Nii-san! We cannot let the girls beat us! This is war!" Tsugemora declares and Kotsu literally gives up.

"I… can't even begin to understand you sometimes Tsugemora…" he says clapping their castle to make sure it's sturdy when suddenly they get attacked.

"COTTON-HEIKA SPECIAL MOVE: CASTLE CANONBALL!" Cotton yells coming in front the side slamming their castle to pieces laughing happily. "You have been defeated! Give in now mortal-kun and Tsugemortal!" She declares as Tsugemora gets angry and begins chasing her.

"Come here you little furball!" He yells annoyed he doesn't have his wiregun.

Kotsu laughs a little. "At least they're not boring…" he says looking to Rinoka who's just sitting by herself also looking at him and he smiles. They might all be odd in their own ways, but his friends are important to him. And if becoming Vongola boss makes their lives better, albeit more dangerous then that's fine. He'll be there to protect them…


	59. My best friend Geraldino

**Clear to cloudy**

 **Target 59: My best friend Geraldino**

Rinoka wakes up on a weekend morning in her adorable pajamas and sits up getting dressed. Her life had changed quite drastically since she met Kotsu. Even more so after the ring conflict. She was so sad that she could do nothing of use mostly, other than somewhat helping out with the defeat of Riccardo. She gets dressed and heads downstairs where her father is sitting on the couch with Geraldino. "G-Good morning father… G-Geraldino-san," She says bowing politely and her father looks back at her.

"Oh… you're up… go make some breakfast for us," He commands and Rinoka bows her head before Geraldino glares at her father.

"You're forgetting something aren't you? sir?" He says piercing his soul with his glare.

"P-Please dear?" Her father adds and Rinoka gets incredibly flustered. It was weird to have her father say things like that. But ever since Geraldino came to live with them, while they're in Japan it's been like that. She begins cooking some eggs and bacon and Geraldino gets up heading over.

"Need some help, Master?" he asks and she blushes.

"N-No it's… fine…" She says shyly. Since the ring conflict she's been good friends with Fumie as well thanks to meeting her though Ren and Kotsu. "F-Father…? C-can Fumie come over today?"

"S-sure dear…" he answers watching TV and Rinoka smiles a little. She's not had a friend over in years.

"T-then I'll get to cleaning!" She says finishing breakfast for the two men setting it down and her father sits and thanks her for the meal, however Geraldino sits her down instead.

"Don't worry master… I will do the cleaning. You just eat and clean your own room alright?" He says heading off to find the vacuum cleaner.

Rinoka and her father sits and eats in awkward silence as the two don't usually eat breakfast together. "R-Rinoka…?" Her father starts before shaking his head. "Nevermind… I hope you don't think you can order me around just because Geraldino is here!" He snaps at her and Rinoka jumps.

"O-Of course not father! I would never d-do that…" She says fidgeting with her fork.

 **-NII-**

Rinoka finished tidying up her room setting her hair up nicely, letting Chido out of his box and he happily flies around her room landing on her shoulder. She's been sure to let him out at least once or twice a day so he knows that she cares about him. She heads out wondering how much she'll need to clean the house, knowing that Geraldino said he'd clean but as she looks around there's barely a speck of dust or a stain on any surface. She finds Geraldino in the kitchen laying under the sink working on the pipes. "Oh! Master! I noticed our sink seemed a little slow on the drain…" He says pulling a giant tuft of… something from the drain putting it in the bucket next to him and he reconnects the pipe testing the sink. "There… finished…" He says crossing his arms. "Your dad went to work for today. He told me to tell you to have a good day," He says smirking and Rinoka has a slight suspicion that he either forced him to say that or he's lying. She slowly tears up and Geraldino panics a little. "O-Oi… master!? What's the matter?" he tries.

Rinoka runs forward nuzzling against his chest. "I-i-i-it's just… y-you're so nice to me! I-I don't get what I did to deserve you guys all being so nice! B-Both you a-and Kotsu-san a-and Ren-senpai," She says sniffling and Geraldino just looks a little uncomfortable having a girl hugging him like he's her older brother.

"W-Well if it helps master… I'm only nice to you because you said you'd teach me how to draw…" He says pretending it's the truth and he gently pushes her away and gets down to her eye-level. "And don't you DARE think that you're a nuisance to us…" He says getting up patting her head. "that being said…" He says before running to a drawer near the couch where he sleeps. He pulls out a piece of paper showing it to the young girl like a little boy showing mommy his first drawing. Seems appropriate given the appearance of the drawing itself. "I've gotten better right?!" He says with excitement and Rinoka gets red in her head looking at it, simply from the fact that she can't bring herself to say its really REALLY bad, but doesn't want to lie to him either.

"T-The color is… nice…" She says preparing for him to retaliate but he just nods looking back at his drawing.

"I think so too… truly brings out the soul," he says nodding and Rinoka looks dumbfounded. 'S-Soul?'.

"B-but maybe… y-you should f-f-focus on t-the line-work… b-before adding color…" She says and Geraldino nods pulling out another drawing of two boys kissing, which Rinoka obviously made based on the appearance and quality.

"Like this right!?" He says before Rinoka leaps for it snatching it from him and she looks like she's about to cry.

"I-I-I-I-I t-told you not to l-look at my drawings w-without asking!" She says pouting and Geraldino stands up again and looks a little sheepish.

"S-sorry… they're just… really well-made…" He says and Rinoka quickly gets it packed away looking at the time seeing that Fumie will be coming over in about an hour and she gets frantic again.

"G-Geraldino-san! W-what should I do!? I-I've never… h-had a friend over!" She says and Geraldino sits her on the couch grabbing his reading glasses.

"Alright then… let's review," He says suddenly sounding professional and he takes out a notebook. "You should prepare some answers beforehand that could lead to fun discussions… here's a list of topics she'll probably mention since this is your first time together in private," He says scribbling something down and unlike his drawing his handwriting is top-quality and Rinoka looks over the extensive list being constantly surprised by this boy. "At the bottom there's a list of activities you might want to prepare for as well," He says and Rinoka looks at it as well. Pillow-fighting? Braiding each others hair…?

"B-B-But I don't know how to b-braid hair! I-I always wear mine like this!" She says and Geraldino laughs getting over beside her.

"Then I'll teach you… as a favor," He says and starts teaching her how to do a few basic braids.

 **-NII-**

As expecting Fumie arrives after an hour, Geraldino opening the door for her. "Oh… you're here too… I thought it would just be me and Rinoka," Fumie says still quite angry at Geraldino for kidnapping her that one time.

"Well nothing's keeping you here, girl," he says before stepping aside to let her inside. As she gets inside Rinoka is standing in the livingroom bowing to her not really knowing how else to greet her.

"H-Hello Fumie-san… w-welcome t-to my house…" She says and Fumie runs up giving her a tight hug.

"Thank youuu! We're gonna have lots of girl fun!" She says and the two girls head upstairs.

"I'll be here if you need me," Geraldino says and Rinoka nods while Fumie just sticks her tongue out at him.

"What a jerk… why does he even live here Rinoka-chan?" Fumie asks as they close the door to her, Chido flying up and lands on Rinoka's shoulder.

"G-G-Geraldino-san i-is actually s-super nice to me… I-I don't mind t-that he's here," She says blushing slightly. She's well aware of how scary he can be.

"R-Really?" Fumie asks but instantly goes off the topic. "Well what do you want to do? I have some ideas if you don't!" She assures and Rinoka blushes a little thinking back to Geraldino's list.

"W-We could um… t-talk about… g-girl things?" She says not really knowing what girl things are as she's never really done that before.

Fumie smirks giving her a knowing look. "So you want to talk about Kotsu then?" She says and Rinoka blushes furiously her whole head growing red and Chido goes crazy flying circles around the room.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-why s-should we t-t-talk about K-Kotsu-san…?" She manages to get out.

"Because girls like talking about the boys they like. And I KNOW you like Kotsu. Riiiiight?" She asks and Rinoka slowly nods.

"I-I do…"

"And why is that?" Fumie says as they both sit on Rinoka's bed and Rinoka buries her head in her pillow from embarrassment.

"I-I-I… d-don't know..." She tries but Fumie isn't buying it and she just giggles at the other girl's fluster.

"Well I'll start then. I like Ren. Kotsu's big brother! Because he's very pretty and incredibly kind. And he has such an amazing outgoing way of talking to people, always trying to make everyone happy and I really like that! There! Your turn,"

Rinoka slowly lifts up her head. "B-but I…" She starts but seeing Fumie's curious eyes on her she lays her head down again. "B-Because… he's always so clumsy a-and m-makes s-so many mistakes… b-but even still h-he always keeps going without thinking about it…" She manages to get out remembering all the times where Kotsu did really weird or stupid things but he never once stopped to think if he should just stop.

 **-NII-**

Kotsu sneezes, Reborn glancing to him. "Bless you,"

"I think someone's saying both good and bad things about me at the same time,"

Reborn tsks. "Keep dreaming Kotsu. No one's saying good things about you."

 **-NII-**

"Aww! That's so cute!" Fumie says looking at Rinoka. "Any other reason…?"

"I-I like his face…" She says and her heart thuds a little. "he always looks so helpless… b-but he always wants to help where he can… e-even if he complains about it…" she says remembering a time when they were in kindergarten, where they went together, Kotsu sadly doesn't remember. She was running around playing with another girl when she fell and hurt her knee and a little Kotsu walked by seeing her crying and when he ran over to help he himself tripped and faceplanted, but he still just went to her.

"A-Are you okay?" he asks looking up at her with dirt on his face holding out a little flower he picked when he fell. "Here! It's for you!" he says and the little Rinoka takes it suddenly not feeling so bad.

"I think you two would make an adorable couple," Fumie says giggling and Rinoka blushes.

"B-But I-I'm his g-guardian! I-I don't think t-that would be-" "NO! Don't think like that!" Fumie interrupts and the two fall into silence for a few seconds.

"I think you'll manage Rinoka. Don't you worry. From what I heard Kotsu was really happy with your performance during that ring-thingy!"

"B-but I lost my own match a-and I w-was useless in the finals too…"

"What IS that game you play even…? Geraldino plays it… Kotsu-kun plays it… Ren plays… you play…" She says and Rinoka buries her head in her pillow.

"I-I'm not allowed to say b-but it's… it brings me closer to Kotsu s-so I want to get s-stronger to help him…" She says and Fumie just giggles. They ask for a few more minutes and in the end fall into comfortable silence when the door slides open.

"Oi… can I come in…?" Geraldino asks and Fumie jumps up about to kick the door closed.

"S-Sure Geraldino-san… what is it?" Rinoka asks and Geraldino opens the door and Fumie stops her kick, bursting out laughing seeing Geraldino standing in an pink apron on top of his normal gangster outfit.

"OI! Shut up girl!" He complains holding out a tray. "I baked some cookies…" He says showing it to them. "It's chocolate chip. None of those raisin crap," He says handing the tray to Fumie who looks… flabbergasted.

"Y-you…? YOU know how to bake?"

"Yeah… problem? What're you girls even talking about in here?" he asks and Fumie pouts.

"Confidential girl things,"

"Boys. Got it," He says closing the door again heading downstairs cleaning after his baking. He managed to not spill a single drop of batter anywhere or make a mess.

"What's WITH that guy!?" Fumie says almost annoyed that he's this… 'normal'.

"H-he's very nice a-and he helps me out around t-the house a-and I-I help him get better at drawing…"

"You draw?! Can I see some of your pictures?" She asks excitedly and Rinoka's face goes red again.

"N-No…! T-those are… private…" She says remembering the drawing Geraldino snatched before Fumie arrived. "T-they're really… weird…" She says but Fumie decides to push a little.

"Pleeeease… I promise I won't tell Kotsu about them," She says grinning and Rinoka just blushes and reluctantly heads to her drawer pulling out a notebook and she hands it to Fumie.

"Please don't laugh okay?" She says grabbing her pillow again as if to defend herself. Fumie opens it up her eyes sparkling.

"Wow… these are so good Rinoka!" She says before smirking knowingly. "I didn't know you had such lewd tastes," She says and Rinoka just gets embarrassed again.

"I-I told you not to make fun of me," She complains pouting behind her pillow hugging it closely and Fumie just moves closer smiling happily.

"I'm not making fun of you! This is really good!"

"T-thank you…" She starts the two go through most of the things Geraldino put on his list meaning Rinoka was sort of well-prepared for the events, like braiding each other's hair, playing dress-up and such. In the end they head downstairs after just playing around for a long time and Rinoka's dad has returned home so Fumie greets him and he looks slightly uncomfortable as he's not used to having strangers in his house. Geraldino just sort of… arrived one day and allowed himself to live there.

"Hello Mister Rinoka's dad! I'm Fumie, her friend," She says cheerful as ever and Geraldino looks back from the couch to make sure her dad doesn't do anything bad.

"H-hello… nice to meet you… I suppose… m-my daughter has never been good at making friends after all…" He says shaking her hand and Geraldino gets up.

"Well! What do you all want for dinner!?" He says glaring at them all and Fumie just glares right back.

"How about… me and Rinoka make curry for us all!?" She says and Rinoka nods slowly. She's never been a good cook, but having to make dinner for her and her father every day means she DOES know a few things at this point.

The two begin making dinner, finding all the things that Geraldino went out to buy to ensure they can have the dishes they want. They get out a recipe book they keep at home and begin, but after just five short minutes Fumie feels a giant shadow looming over her. "Oi, girl… you're forgetting to add the oil, so the pot doesn't get burned… stupid," He says and Fumie notices that she DID miss that part in the recipe.

"Y-you're right!? But don't call me stupid!" She demands poking his chest to get him to step back but he definitely doesn't budge. He turns to Rinoka who's chopping vegetables.

"Master. Please make sure that all of the pieces are small enough to fit at least five on a spoon. Otherwise it'll feel too chunky to eat," he says showing her how to by expertly chopping a carrot into pieces, something that doesn't surprise Rinoka since she's seen him fight and cutting things up is the ONE thing she'd expect him to be good at.

 **-NII-**

After a long time of Geraldino standing behind the two girls, correcting their mistakes before they happen and Fumie is honestly surprised as Geraldino doesn't strike her, or anyone for that matter, as the type who knows how to cook. As the dish is standing and cooking by itself the brutish cosmic flame sets the table while, Rinoka and Fumie take care of cleaning the kitchen. They all sit down to eat and everyone take a bite of their curry all at once, Rinoka and Fumie both being quite surprised by how good it is, while Geraldino just slowly nods, Rinoka's father not really having a visible reaction. "This is pretty good girls," Geraldino says nodding to himself.

"Well… y-you w-w-were a big help G-Geraldino-san," Geraldino just shakes his head.

"Nah… I barely did anything…" He says taking another bite.

Fumie glares at the gangster from across the table. "You have no business being this good of a person after kidnapping me!" She suddenly says both Rinoka and her father almost choking on their food.

"Oi oi… calm down. I ALREADY told you! It was a mistake!" Geraldino retorts and Fumie just pouts and moodily eats her food. He notes Rinoka and her father looking strangely at him. "I-It was for the game… I mistook her for the target I was given," he says and Rinoka seems to get a little calmer. "Hey old man. I put those times behind me. I'm on the other team now," He says hoping her father will understand somewhat.

"Suuuure…" The elder man says eating in silence afterwards.

"But… I think I'll be nice enough to forgive you for that Geraldino-kun," Fumie says and Geraldino just tsks.

"Not that I need your forgiveness. But thanks," he adds and Rinoka looks at the ice wolf and she can't help but enjoy his company. He might not be book-smart but he has a TON of experience in lots of other things. He can cook, clean, do laundry, bake, braid hair, she's even had a few good talks with him, so he's good there as well. Truly he is just about the best friend she's ever had and he's a gangster and, at least to her, he's one of the five most powerful people in the whole wide world.


End file.
